The Benjamin K Miller Collection is a unique collection of stamps

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

 and other philatelic

Philately

Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...

 materials donated to The New York Public Library

New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...

 in 1925 by Milwaukee attorney Benjamin Kurtz Miller (1857–1928). This collection was the first complete collection of U.S. stamps ever assembled. His collection is known as the "crown jewels" of U.S. stamp collecting for its rare holdings, depth, and variety.

One cent Z Grill

Of the great rarities and philatelic items in the collection is the One-Cent Z Grill

Z Grill

The Benjamin Franklin Z Grill, or simply "Z-Grill", is a 1-cent postage stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in February 1868 depicting Benjamin Franklin. While stamps of this design were the common 1-cent stamps of the 1860s, the Z-Grill is distinguished by having the so-called "Z"...

, the rarest of all U.S. stamps. Only two copies of this stamp are known to exist, the other copy is in the collection of Bill Gross.

Background of Miller

Benjamin Kurtz Miller was born in 1857, the son of a Milwaukee lawyer and grandson of one of the first federal judges in Wisconsin. He joined his father’s firm in 1877 and later became a partner, retiring in 1906 to pursue personal interests. The firm continues today through its successor, the major U.S. law firm Foley & Lardner.

The Collection

Miller built his collection a little late in life at the age of 61. He started stamp collecting seriously on a large scale only after 1918, when he bought one of the famous Inverted Jenny

Inverted Jenny

The Inverted Jenny is a United States postage stamp first issued on May 10, 1918 in which the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the center of the design was accidentally printed upside-down; it is probably the most famous error in American philately...

 stamps at the age of 61. Later he intensified his collecting, by writing articles in stamp journals and purchasing from up to 30 dealers.

A complete collection

By the early 1920s, Miller was on the way to his ultimate achievement: collecting one example of every U.S. postage stamp in the Scott catalogue

Scott catalogue

The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Co, a subsidiary of Amos Press, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the entire world which its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in six large volumes and is also produced in...

 of his day. He also collected varieties like color shades, frauds and forgeries, fresh unused stamps, and varied cancellations. Miller also enjoyed plating stamps

Plating (stamps)

Plating refers to the reconstruction of a pane or "sheet" of postage stamps printed from a single plate by using individual stamps and overlapping strips and blocks of stamps...

, seeking one copy for each position on a printing plate.

The display

The collection was displayed at the library for more than 50 years. However it was locked away after a theft of some of the items in 1977. Even though a bulk of the collection was recovered it did not come back on display.

It is has now made a come back when the National Postal Museum

National Postal Museum

The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., USA, was established through joint agreement between the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution and opened in 1993. The museum is located across the street from Union Station, in the building that...

 put it on display in two parts in from 27 May 2006 till 1 October 2007, and in 2007 from 5 November till 12 January 2009.

Recognition

In recognition of Miller's philatelic accomplishments and scholarship, the Royal Philatelic Society

Royal Philatelic Society

The Royal Philatelic Society London is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded in 1869 as The Philatelic Society, London.- Royal connections :...

 upgaded his status from "member" to "fellow".

External links

• The Benjamin K. Miller Collection at the National Postal Museum
  National Postal Museum
  The National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., USA, was established through joint agreement between the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution and opened in 1993. The museum is located across the street from Union Station, in the building that...