Guernsey Banknotes 5 Pounds banknote 1991 Thomas de la Rue
The States of Guernsey
Obverse: Guernsey States seal at lower left. Fort Grey at lower center in underprint.
Reverse: Portrait of Thomas de la Rue and Fountain Street St Peter Port 1799 (by Dupuy) at center, workers at envelope making machine 1851 at lower right.
Watermark: Guernsey States seal.
Printer: Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited, London England.
Size: 136 x 70 mm.
Guernsey banknotes - Guernsey paper money
1980-1991
One Pounds 5 Pounds 10 Pounds 20 Pounds
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.
Born in La Forêt in Guernsey, Thomas de la Rue was apprenticed to a master-printer at St Peter Port in 1803.
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 and William Frederick de la Rue.
He went into business with Tom Greenslade and together they launched the newspaper Le Publiciste. Shortly thereafter Thomas de la Rue launched his own publication, Le Miroir politique.
In 1816 he left Forest, Guernsey, for London, 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". De la Rue was the first company who began printing of playing cards, and it received the right to do that in 1831; 1832 was the year when the first pack of cards was printed by the company. Soon afterwards, Thomas hired Owen Jones, a well-known designer and architect. By 1837 his wife, both his sons and his eldest daughter were involved in the business. In 1855 Thomas was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur. In 1858 he retired from De La Rue handing over the management of the business to his sons William Frederick and Warren De la Rue.
Thomas de la Rue died in London in 1866.
The Guernsey Post Office has issued two sets of postage stamps commemorating his life and achievements, in 1971 and 1993. There is a pub in the Pollet, St Peter Port, Guernsey, named after him.