WTAMU’s Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum has brought yet another unique opportunity to the area with the Remnant Trust Collection. This collection of unique first edition documents and books has been on display since August 26 and will be at the museum until December 1.
According to Warren Stricker, Director of Research at the museum, Dr. Hallmark, provost/vice president of academic affairs was one of many faculty and university supporters that found the funding to bring the collection to the campus.
Items that are on display are a first edition King James Bible, a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, a Torah papyrus scroll, first editions of philosophers’ work such as Plato and many other delicate documents.
“We’ve got about 60 items in all, which came all at one time,” Sticker said. “Item’s that we will be getting the first week in October include the Magna Carter, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Everything else that is here is published or manuscript items mostly dealing with religious thought or politics.”
A more recent publication is a copy of George Orwell’s “1984”. The theme of politics is relevant through the fictional piece of the collection.
“It’s quite a broad range of material and quite a large number of items as well,” Stricker said.
The Remnant Trust is a public educational foundation, which provides a rare collection of first edition books and related works for organizations and universities to present to the public. The foundation is based on a belief that ‘great ideas belong to everyone’ and therefore makes their collection readily available to various people.
The PPHM has been hosting lectures to classes here on campus, tour groups and schools from the surrounding area. Specialized lectures over certain items in the collection have been scheduled as well.
In one class senior advertising and public relations major Precious Wilson and junior ad/pr major Kylie Berry were just two of the students who have experience one of the lectures.
Berry said that she “thought it was really cool to be able to actually look at and hold one of the first books ever printed. It really made me appreciate how far we’ve come technologically and also made me appreciate the history of printed media.”
Wilson also felt that the experience was something more than another lecture.
“I thought [the Remnant Trust] was informative and interesting. It was also mind blowing knowing that they have lasted that long and just being able to see and touch what someone wrote years ago was amazing.”
Sticker said that several classes have taken advantage of the Remnant Trust being on campus.
“We have about 14 to 15 classes that have come in or are scheduled to come in this month and then another five to ten in October,” Sticker said. “There has been a lot of interest in the collection
overall.” To see the pieces of the collection readers are able to visit the museum. The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, or you may contact the museum itself to make an appointment at 806- 651-2250. WT students get into the museum free with their Buff ID.
