The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 21, May 27, 2007, Article 6

MORE ON CANADIAN BANKNOTE DESIGNER LESLEY SAWYER 1921-2007

In April we reported the death of Canadian banknote artist Lesley
Sawyer.  Additional information about Sawyer and his work are in
an article from The Globe and Mail of Toronto:

"Leslie Sawyer was a British commercial artist who set eyes on Canada
only during brief visits until after he retired in his 60s. But he
painted some famous Canadian scenes that appeared on the back of the
country's banknotes, from the RCMP Musical Ride on the $50 bill to
Moraine Lake in Alberta on the $20.

"The Canadian notes were made for Thomas de la Rue - which is still
a huge maker of banknotes and stamps today - as part of a contract
with the Bank of Canada. Mr. Sawyer spent almost his entire working
career at Thomas de la Rue, where the first Canadian note he worked
on was a new $5 bill in the 1950s.

"There have been six issues of Canadian currency since the Bank of
Canada took charge of all banknote production in 1934. Until then,
the government and the chartered banks both issued notes. Mr. Sawyer
had a part in the design of the fourth series, which was issued from
1969 to 1979 and nicknamed the multicoloured series by collectors.

"He was a fine artist, working on scenes on the back of the
banknotes," said Mark Crickett of Thomas de la Rue...

"Leslie Sawyer was born in Epsom, a suburb of London. His father
was a carpenter and the family grew up in nearby Sutton. Young Leslie
showed a talent for drawing. Like most British children of the time
who were not headed for university, he finished school at 14 and was
apprenticed to a commercial artist.

"The war interrupted his apprenticeship and he joined the Royal Air
Force, working as ground crew. He was stationed in North Africa for
a while and the RAF enlisted his artistic talents to paint
fierce-looking shark teeth on the noses of Kittyhawk fighter aircraft.

"Along with banknotes, he designed stamps for the United Nations and
many different countries, including New Zealand, Jamaica and Gibraltar.
His title was security artist, a job held by very few people - perhaps
only 40 around the world at the time. Because of the danger of
counterfeiting, the work of a printer such as Thomas de la Rue has
to be secret. His name never appeared on any of his work."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

 ARTICLE: CANADIAN BANKNOTE DESIGNER LESLEY SAWYER DIES
 esylum_v10n17a23.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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