Not that long ago. A copyright term of life plus 70 years would mean that protection ended in 1980. Well, 1980 seems like a long time ago now but I was there.
Stuff published in the 1800s wouldn't have ever had the life-plus-70 term, they'd have the shorter fixed term-plus-renewal scheme from the 1831 and 1909 copyright acts.
For anything that was unpublished, you're right, though if they'd been found and published before 2002, they'd still be protected until 2047.
