Thomas de la Rue (24 March 1793 – 7 June 1866) was a printer from

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

who founded

De La Rue De La Rue plc (, ) is a British company headquartered in Basingstoke, England, that designs and produces banknotes, secure polymer substrate and banknote security features (including security holograms, security threads and security printe ...

plc, a printing company which is now the world's largest commercial security printer and papermaker.

Biography

Born on Le Bourg,

Forest, Guernsey The Forest (Guernésiais: La Fouarêt, French: La Forêt) is a parish in Guernsey. It is the highest parish on the island, with altitudes of up to about 100 m. The full title of the parish is ''Ste Marguerite de la Foret'', after the parish church ...

to Rachael () and Eleazar de la Rue. Thomas was the seventh of their nine children. Thomas de la Rue was apprenticed to a master-printer, Joseph Antoine Chevalier in

Saint Peter Port St. Peter Port (french: Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St. ...

in 1803.Thomas de la Rue at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> He went into business with Tom Greenslade and together they launched the newspaper ''Le Publiciste''. Having fallen out with Greenslade, Thomas de la Rue launched his own publication, ''Le Miroir politique'', first published on 6 February 1813. In 1816 he left Guernsey, for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he initially established a business making straw hats. Then in 1830 together with Samuel Cornish and William Rock he founded a business of "cardmakers, hot pressers and enamellers". in 1831, de la Rue was granted the right to print playing cards, making it the first company to do so; it printed its first pack the following year. Soon afterwards, Thomas hired

Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' and '' Tribune.'' He has two ...

, a well-known designer and architect.Thomas de la Rue
at CardsHistory.com By 1837 his wife, his two sons William Frederick and Warren De la Rue and his eldest daughter were involved in the business. In 1855 Thomas was made a ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. In 1858, he retired from

, handing over the management of the business to his sons. Thomas de la Rue died in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

in 1866.

Family

He married Jane Warren (17 June 1789 – 22 September 1858) on 21 March 1816. He had six daughters and two sons: Mary, Elizabeth, Georgiana, Louisa, Jane,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

and William.

Memorials

The Guernsey Post Office has issued two sets of

postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

commemorating his life and achievements, in 1971 and 1993. There is a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

on The Pollet, Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, named after him. The States of Guernsey issued a commemorative one-pound note in July 2013, to mark 200 years since the first commercial venture of

Thomas De La Rue Thomas de la Rue (24 March 1793 – 7 June 1866) was a printer from Guernsey who founded De La Rue plc, a printing company which is now the world's largest commercial security printer and papermaker. Biography Born on Le Bourg, Forest, Guernsey ...

. The note is in circulation alongside the standard one-pound note, differing in the portrait of De La Rue on the reverse and a TDLR letter prefix.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De La Rue, Thomas Guernsey people 1793 births 1866 deaths Anglo-Normans

Biography

Family

Memorials

References

Further reading

External links