Edward Chauncey Luard (1856 — 22 September 1900) was a British planter in

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state fro ...

, British Guiana (now Guyana). He was influential among the planter community in British Guiana and was a member of the Court of Policy for East Demerara. He led the campaign to introduce a ballot into the colony's constitution in 1895. A noted philatelist, Luard's collection of the stamps of British Guiana included examples of the " cottonreel" issues, some of which are now part of the

Royal Philatelic Collection The Royal Philatelic Collection is the postage stamp collection of the British royal family. It is the most comprehensive collection of items related to the philately of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth, with many unique pieces. ...

Early life and family

Edward Luard was the eldest son of William Charles Luard of Llandaff, South Wales, and Clara Julia Jane. He was christened in 1856 at Saint John, Cardiff. In 1886, he married Lucy Amelia (Mamie) Winter, daughter of Nathaniel Winter, of

Blenheim Plantation Blenheim ( ) is the English name of Blindheim, a village in Bavaria, Germany, which was the site of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Almost all places and other things called Blenheim are named directly or indirectly in honour of the battle. Place ...

Leguan Leguan Island is a small island situated in the delta of the Essequibo River on the coast of Guyana, South America. The island is shaped like a gull wing and is nine miles (14 km) long and wide at its widest making it roughly square in area ...

.'' The Argosy'' (Demerara), 4 September 1886, p. 4.

Career

Luard arrived in British Guiana as a young man, working first at Plantation Peter's Hall, a sugar plantation on the east bank of the

Demerara River The Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana that rises in the central rainforests of the country and flows to the north for 346 kilometres until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown, Guyana's largest seaport and capital, is situated o ...

. In 1882 he was one of the authors of ''The Overseer's Manual; or, a Guide to the Canefield and the Sugar Factory''. Later, he was the owner (or part owner) of La Bonne Intention plantation on the Atlantic coast of Demerara. He was elected a non-resident fellow of the

Royal Colonial Institute The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) is a non-governmental organisation with a mission to promote the value of the Commonwealth and the values upon which it is based. The Society upholds the values of the Commonwealth Charter, promoting confli ...

in 1886. He became influential among the planter community in British Guiana and was active in the colony's politics as a member of the

Court of Policy The Court of Policy was a legislative body in Dutch and British Guiana until 1928. For most of its existence it formed the Combined Court together with the six Financial Representatives. History The Court of Policy was established in 1732 by the ...

for East Demerara. With the support of '' The Argosy,'' he led the campaign to introduce a ballot into the colony's constitution in 1895."The Negro and his Descendants in British Guiana, Part II"
by A. A. Thorne, pp. 505–509 (p. 507) in Nancy Cunard (1934) (Ed.)
Negro Anthology: 1931–1933
'. London: Nancy Cunard at Wishart & Co.

Philately

An 1850 British Guiana 2 c pink cottonreel pair on cover

Luard was a philatelist whose collection of British Guiana stamps was sold to Pemberton, Wilson & Co. in 1890 and then to Philipp von Ferrary. It included a pair of the 2c rose "cottonreel" stamps of 1851 on the cover that was later purchased by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

and is now part of the

.Courtney, Nicholas. (2004) ''The Queen's Stamps: The Authorised History of the Royal Philatelic Collection''. London: Methuen. pp. 233–234. In the early 1890s, Luard was in London, resident in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, and became a member of The Philatelic Society, London (later the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...

), attending their meetings and subsequently entering into correspondence with

Edward Denny Bacon Sir Edward Denny Bacon, KCVO (29 August 1860 – 5 June 1938)Biography
in the ...

about the history of the stamps of the colony after he returned to British Guiana. In 1896, Luard wrote to '' The London Philatelist'' from Demerara that he had bought another pair of the 2c pink cottonreels on cover from the Rector of Christ Church, Georgetown, to whom they had been donated by a Miss Rose, an elderly lady parishioner. The cover was addressed to "Miss Rose, Blankenberg". Luard commented that she had since been "besieged" by stamp collectors seeking old stamps of the colony for which there were standing offers to buy in the advertisements of the local newspapers. Unfortunately, she had no more. Luard paid $1,005 (£209) but then sold the cover to Messrs. Stanley Gibbons for £500. The rector offered the impoverished Miss Rose a share of the sale price but she refused to accept anything, saying that she was pleased at last to be "able to give something worth while" to her church.

Death and legacy

Luard died on 22 September 1900 at Strathleven, Dumbarton, in Scotland. He left an estate of £12,171. Probate was granted to his wife Lucy and to Robert Gowan Duncan. In 2012, he and his relatives and friends were the subject of a

collection of letters A letter collection or letter book consists of a publication, usually a book, containing a compilation of letters written by a real person. Unlike an epistolary novel, a letter collection belongs to non-fiction literature. As a publication, a lett ...

published in book form and edited by Johanna Merz titled '' Love in a Distant Land: The Story of Edward Chauncy Luard his Forebears, Friends and Family. A Collection of Letters''.Merz, Johanna. (2012) ''Love in a Distant Land: The Story of Edward Chauncy Luard his Forebears, Friends and Family. A Collection of Letters 1825–1946''.

Selected publications

* ''The Overseer's Manual; or, a Guide to the Canefield and the Sugar Factory''. Demerara, 1882. (With F. C. Thorpe ''et al.'') (3rd 1887)

References