Among 20K Pounds of Donated Books, a Rare Find

Michigan State University's Surplus Store receives Latin Jesuit theology text
Posted Oct 15, 2025 11:21 AM CDT
Centuries-Old Book Ends Up in Michigan Donation Bin
   (Getty Images / Tomasz Smigla)

Workers at Michigan State University's Surplus Store sort through a staggering 20,000 pounds of donated books each month, but last October they stumbled on a find unlike any other: a 17th-century theology book bound in pigskin, written in Latin by Austrian Jesuit Paul Laymann. The book, a copy of Theologia Moralis, stood out immediately due to its unusual binding and age, according to operations coordinator Chris Hewitt, who told WOOD-TV that staff realized right away "it was something unique." (See an image of the book here.)

The book didn't bear any library markings, suggesting it likely came from a private collection rather than an institution. The book appears to be a 1672 reprint of the 1651 tome. "I believe this was a time when they still had to hand press everything. So, seeing how thick that book is, it is quite the labor of love to have put together," says Hewitt. While this is the oldest book ever donated to the store, it's not the only rare find. Hewitt says it has also been on the receiving end of a first-edition book by Charles Darwin and a first edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

An MSU press release notes the university's Special Collections team has confirmed that very few copies of Theologia Moralis are known to exist, and that this is perhaps in the best shape of all existing copies. While the Surplus Store sells thousands of books, this one will remain archived in MSU's collection.

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