Geosciences Chair Donates Rare Books to University Libraries

Christopher Liner

Professor Christopher Liner, chair of the Fulbright College Department of Geosciences, has donated 22 rare books to the University Libraries Special Collections Division. The books range from early editions of British and American fiction to important works on mathematics, religion and history and are joining Special Collections as the “Christopher Lee Liner Rare Book Collection.”

“It is a great honor to be able to give back to the University of Arkansas,” Liner said. “My UA geology education in the 1970s lead to graduate school and an industry and academic career that carried me around the world. An early move to London set off an enduring passion for acquiring rare books; the result being a collection that currently numbers over 350 items. I hope future generations of UA students will share my joy of reading, exploring, and researching these timeless objects. The plan is to donate a few items each year and, ultimately, gift my entire rare book library to the University of Arkansas.”

The 2021 donated items include:

• Two medieval manuscript folios: a pre-1400 antiphonal leaf with musical notation and a 14th century Bible manuscript leaf.
• Early book on trigonometry, Willebrord Snell’s Triangulorum Canonicae from 1627.
• 1700 edition of Locke’s essay Concerning Human Understanding.
• Large format 1638 printing of the King James Bible in the original binding along with the Book of Common Prayer and the Sternhold and Hopkins collection of Psalms.
• Several early editions by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, including a first edition of Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
• First editions of three works by William Faulkner, including Absalom, Absalom!

“Professor Liner’s generous donations will enrich the Libraries’ rare books holdings in many ways, notably in the areas of 20th century literature and early print religious texts,” said Joshua Youngblood, rare books librarian. “Some pieces will have immediate impact in Special Collections’ work with students through instruction sessions and research projects, including the two medieval folios and important titles from mathematics history.”

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.