THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 1997 TAG: 9701080407
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: GLOUCESTER LENGTH: 26 lines
A retired Old Dominion University professor lost a collection of 15,000 books, including 14 original editions by German philosopher Immanuel Kant, when his house burned down Tuesday.
``Like a fool, I never had them estimated'' for value, Joong J. Fang said. He holds minimum insurance, he said.
Fang, 73, an expert on Kant, taught at Old Dominion from 1974 until 1990, then retired to Gloucester County. He was working outdoors when he saw flames coming from the center of his two-story house about 10:30 a.m.
He drove to a neighbor's house to call in the blaze, accidentally driving into the neighbor's enclosed porch. He was not hurt.
Scorched and scattered pages from Fang's collection fluttered on the ground afterwards.
Fang estimated that 2,000 books in his library were by or about Kant. The fire ``is not only my loss, but philosophy's loss,'' he said.
KEYWORDS: FIRE