Thomas Miller (14 August 1731 – 25 July 1804) was a leading English bookseller.

Origins and early life

Miller was born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

on 14 August 1731, the son of Thomas Miller, a pavior. He was apprenticed to a grocer, but when he commenced business for himself in 1755 his fondness for reading induced him to combine bookselling with his other trade.

Bookseller and antiquary

Unfortunately, Miller settled in

Bungay, Suffolk Bungay () is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . It lies in the Waveney Valley, west of Beccles on the edge of The Broads, and at the neck of a ...

, where the demand for books was small. Moreover, his sturdy independence lost him to the custom of many of the local magnates. As his son William recorded in a memoir

Thomas Miller was little suited by nature to the quiet, unambitious life of a country shopkeeper. He possessed a strong & vigorous understanding, with great energy & industry. His mind, which he had improved by much reading, was adapted to a larger sphere - his cramped locality marred his fortune...He had a spirit too independent for the petty aristocracy that surrounds most country towns - his politics never varied or were adapted to his local interests....He had a talent for light poetry but was too fond of lampooning his neighbours when the vein was upon him & he saw a fair opportunity.

Miller's stock of books was very valuable, and he had an extensive collection of engraved portraits, and nearly a complete series of Roman and English silver and brass coins. He published catalogues of his collections in 1782 and 1790. In 1795, when the fashion was very general for tradesmen to circulate provincial halfpennies, he had a die-cast, but an accident happened to one of the blocks when only twenty-three pieces had been struck off, Miller declined having a fresh one made. This coin, finely engraved, with a strong profile likeness of Miller, is known to collectors by the name of the "Miller halfpenny".

Family, death and posterity

On 12 July 1756, Miller married Ann Scarlett at Swaffham (daughter of Edward Scarlett); they had no children, and she died in 1763. In 1764 he married Sarah (Sally), the daughter of William Kingsbury, a

maltster Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, most o ...

. Their son, William Richard Beckford Miller (1769–1844), became a leading publisher. They also had three daughters. In 1799 Miller became quite blind, but continued in business until his death, which took place at Bungay on 25 July 1804. Miller's portrait was engraved by E. Scriven from a miniature by

Henry Edridge Henry Edridge (1768 in Paddington – 23 April 1821 in London) was the son of a tradesman and apprenticed at the age of fifteen to William Pether, a mezzotinter and landscapist, and became proficient as a painter of miniatures, portraits ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Thomas (bookseller) 1731 births 1804 deaths English antiquarians English booksellers People from Bungay Businesspeople from Norwich