The New York Public Library Collection on Display

The “Holy Grail” of Stamp Collections

An extraordinary collection of stamps and other philatelic materials are being seen by the public for the first time in nearly 30 years – the result of a collaboration between the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum and The New York Public Library. “Rarity Revealed: The Benjamin K. Miller Collection,” an exhibit of materials from the Library’s Benjamin K. Miller Philatelic Collection, opened May 27, 2006 at the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. Among the great rarities and philatelic gems in the collection is the “One-Cent Z Grill,” the rarest of all U.S. stamps. Only two copies of this stamp are known to exist. One copy is in the Miller collection. The other copy has been loaned to the Museum, marking the first time ever that both copies are seen together.

Donated to The New York Public Library in 1925 by Milwaukee attorney Benjamin Kurtz Miller (1857-1928), the Miller collection was the first complete collection of U.S. stamps ever assembled. It has been called the “crown jewels” of U.S. stamp collecting for its variety, depth and rare holdings. Due to the great breadth of material in the Miller collection, it is being displayed in two parts. The first part of the exhibit, which contains materials issued between 1847 and 1894, will be on view from May 27, 2006 through October 1, 2007. The second part features stamps issued between 1894 and the 1920s.

A companion book to the exhibit, “Rarity Revealed: The Benjamin K. Miller Collection,” was published by the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and The New York Public Library in 2006. This book is the first to tell the whole story of Benjamin K. Miller and his legendary collection of United States stamps. It is the story of a wealthy, bookish Milwaukee attorney, how he formed one of the greatest collections of U.S. stamps in the world, and his extraordinary gift to The New York Public Library.

In Rarity Revealed, authors Scott Trepel and Ken Lawrence take the reader on a tour of American philately from 1842 through 1926, illustrating highlights from the Miller collection and explaining what makes these stamps so rare and special.

The detailed 400 full-color images of select items in the Miller collection make this 184 page book a unique reference to U.S. philately. For the dedicated collector or casual observer, Rarity Revealed will open the door to a treasure trove of stamps and to knowledge about them. Ordering information is available from www.libraryshop.org/rarebekmico.html. The Table of Contents can be viewed here. The contents of the Miller Collection can be previewed at www.arago.si.edu. The website allows browsing through the stamp images and provides details on the history of the stamps.