It is a very real misfortune to Philately that the Trustees of the British Museum have taken no steps to continue the collection beyond 1890, or to add items which are lacking prior to that date. It is, I understand, simply a question of money, and the Trustees would not be unwilling to allow the necessary space for the growth of the collection if money were forthcoming for that purpose. It is now twenty years since Mr. Tapling died, and the loss of that period in the collection is almost irretrievable. Yet the collection as it stands is the most comprehensive treasure store of the first half century of stamp-issuing, and students in this country are fortunate indeed in having such a wealth of material at their disposal for comparison and for reference.
The collection which has been formed by the authorities of the Berlin Postal Museum has been attaining a high rank in recent years. The Museum, which is the finest repository of postal records and curios in the world, was founded by Dr. von Stephan, the first Director of the Posts of the German Empire, and the first to propose the use of post-cards. The stamp collection was based at first on the stamps received at the General Post Office in Berlin from the postal administrations of other countries. But the collection is being built up on philatelic lines, and is not to be compared with the fancy frames devised by decorative fiends for the postal museums of other countries. In Berlin the collection shows essays and proofs, those of the old German States being particularly fine, and most of the prominent rarities have been acquired, chiefly by exchange of duplicate stamps. There is the 1d. Post Office Mauritius used, and the 2d. unused; the 2 cents circular British Guiana, the 2 cents, 5 cents, and both types of the 13 cents of the Hawaiian "Missionaries"; _pairs_ of the 27 paras and 108 paras of Moldavia, and a set of the 27, 81, and two of the 108 paras all cut round, and all used together on one envelope; the woodblock errors of the Cape of Good Hope; the 15 cents and 30 cents Reunion; and a wonderful range of the stamps of all the German States.
The late Duke of Leinster left his valuable collection to the Irish National Museum; and there are several instances of bequests and gifts of lesser importance to local museums. In 1910 Mr. George H. Worthington, the owner of the finest collection in the United States, made the announcement that he was going to leave his great collection to the city of Cleveland, Ohio.