A Slovenian physicist has accidentally come by a 440-year-old copy of Copernicus' most famous book in a library in Ljubljana.
Having borrowed "De Revolutionibus" from the National University Library, physicist Stanislav Juznic soon established that the copy was from 1566 and not 1766 as the library's catalogue claimed.
According to the paper, Slovenian experts have confirmed that the book is indeed an original second edition copy of Copernicus' famous work that sparked a scientific revolution because of the Polish astronomer's claim that the Earth was not the centre of the Universe and that planets circled the sun.
Juznic does not exactly know how the book came to Ljubljana, although he suspects that Jesuits brought it with them in the early 18th century.
The book was stored in a Jesuit library that was destroyed by fire in around 1760. Having survived the fire, the book was moved to a library run by historian Franz Wilde.
With the arrival of Napoleon's forces in Carniola in the early 19th century, the library was taken over by academic Matija Cop, widely regarded as Slovenia's most educated person of all times.
Ironically - or perhaps on purpose - it was Cop who wrongly wrote that the book was from 1766 rather than 1566 in the library catalogue and stored it among other works from the 18th century.
The paper suggests that the mistake could well be the reason the book was not taken from Slovenia by Napoleon, or later on by Austrian emperors and occupying Italian and German forces.
According to book expert Mihael Glavan, this is a major finding. Although it may not be the most valuable book in the National University Library - which is home to an 11th century manuscript, among other things - it is right up there, Glavan said.
He stressed that the book is in extremely good order and needs no restoration since very few people ever borrowed it.
Glavan told Slovenske novice that Copernicus' book may not be the only masterpiece that has gone unnoticed at the library, since most of the remnants of the Jesuit library have never been properly explored.
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