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{{Short description|Public Figure}}
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[[Image:Benjemin K Miller 2305 xl.jpg|frame|Benjamin K. Miller]]The '''Benjamin K. Miller Collection''' is a unique collection of [[Postage stamp|stamps]] and other [[philately|philatelic]] materials donated to The [[New York Public Library]] in 1925 by Milwaukee attorney Benjamin Kurtz Miller (1857–1928).<ref name="nypl">{{cite news
|url = http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/stamp/
|title = The "Holy Grail" of Stamp Collections
|accessdate = 2006-08-08
|publisher = The New York Public Library}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url =https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/11/AR2006111100529.html
|title =Rare, Costly Stamp Suspected on Ballot
|date = 2006-11-11
|accessdate = 2008-02-15
|newspaper = The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name="arago">{{cite web
|url =http://www.arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=1&cmd=1&img=&mode=&pg=1&tid=2040912
|title =Benjamin K. Miller
|accessdate =2008-02-15
|publisher = Arago: National Postal Museum }}</ref> This collection has been considered the first complete collection of U.S. stamps ever assembled.<ref name="nypl"/> His collection is known as the "crown jewels" of U.S. stamp collecting for its rare holdings, depth, and variety.<ref name="nypl" /> Miller's collection was not complete, missing some stamps then listed by Scott.<ref name="US Classics">''A Sharp Eye on collecting US Classics'' (Sharp Photography Publications, 2021) ASIN B091MBTGJ7 [[:File:A Sharp Eye on collecting US Classics.pdf|(read online)]]</ref>

==One cent Z Grill==
Of the great rarities and philatelic items in the collection is the [[Z Grill|One-Cent Z Grill]], one of 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 (mutuals)|Bill Gross]].

==Background==
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.<ref>{{cite web
|url =http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Foley-amp;-Lardner-Company-History.html
|title =Foley & Lardner
|accessdate =2008-02-15
|publisher = Funding Universe}}</ref>

==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]] stamps at the age of 61.<ref name="arago" /> Later he intensified his collecting, by writing articles in stamp journals and purchasing from up to 30 dealers.

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]] of his day.<ref name="arago" /> He also collected varieties like color shades, frauds and forgeries, fresh unused stamps, and varied cancellations. Miller also enjoyed [[Plating (stamps)|plating stamps]],<ref name="arago" /> 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 153 of its rarest stamps in 1977. Even though 81 of the stamps were later recovered (some of them mutilated to disguise their provenance) the library did not put the collection back on display.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Trepel |first=Scott R. |author2=Lawrence, Ken |title=Rarity Revealed: The Benjamin K. Miller Collection |publisher=Smithsonian National Postal Museum and [[The New York Public Library]] Books |year=2006 |isbn=1-891568-05-1}}, pp. 169ff.</ref>

It returned to public view when the [[National Postal Museum]] put it on display in two parts in from 27 May 2006 to 1 October 2007, and in 2007 from 5 November to 12 January 2009.<ref>{{cite news
|url = http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/millercollection/index.html
|title = The Benjamin K Miller Collection
|accessdate = 2006-08-08
|publisher = National Postal Museum
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060901160058/http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/millercollection/index.html
|archive-date = 2006-09-01
|url-status = dead
}}</ref>

==Recognition==
In recognition of Miller's philatelic accomplishments and scholarship, the [[Royal Philatelic Society]] upgraded his status from "member" to "fellow".<ref name="arago" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060901160058/http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/millercollection/index.html The Benjamin K. Miller Collection] at the [[National Postal Museum]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Benjamin Kurtz}}
[[Category:Philatelic museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Milwaukee]]
[[Category:New York Public Library]]
[[Category:Philately of the United States]]
[[Category:19th-century American lawyers]]

Benjamin Miller Collection - Revision history

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