William Henry Miller (book collector)

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William Henry Miller (1789–31 October 1848) was a Scottish book collector and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1830 to 1837. Born the only child of William Miller of Craigentinny, Midlothian, he grew up with a love of classical literature.

In 1830 he was elected as a Whig MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, defeating Evelyn Denison. He was re-elected in 1831 as a Tory, and then won elections in 1832, 1835 and 1837 after contests, twice finishing at the top of the poll. He lost the seat in 1841 and failed to win Berwick in 1847. He died unmarried at Craigentinny House near Edinburgh on 31 October 1848, aged about 60, and was buried on his estate in a mausoleum with sculpted friezes by Alfred Gatley, known as the Craigentinny Marbles.

As a book collector, Miller was regarded as the successor to Richard Heber. Many rare works from Heber passed into Miller’s library at Britwell Court, Buckinghamshire. He was meticulous in his collecting, carrying a foot rule to measure a “tall” copy he wished to buy, and he became known as “Measure Miller.” The Britwell Library, formed mainly during the dispersal of Heber’s and other collections, was renowned for its early English and Scottish literature. It included six works from William Caxton’s press, books printed by Wynkyn de Worde and Richard Pynson, much of Heber’s ballad collection, and a superb series of Theodor de Bry’s voyages.

Britwell Court and its libraries were left to his cousin Miss Marsh, then passed to Samuel Christy-Miller, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme (1847–1859), and on his death in 1869 to Wakefield Christie-Miller. The library crest features a right hand holding an open book. A fire-proof library building was added in 1864. The house and collection remained in the family until 1919, when they were sold and the collection was dispersed.