Elie Timothée Loizeaux was born in Vinton, Iowa on 4 March 1873, as the son of a French immigrant family. In 1892, he became an apprentice engraver at the American Bank Note Company. At the same time he took courses in drawing and painting at the Art Student’s League.
Loizeaux’s first known engraved stamp, issued in Peru, dates from 1897.
He remained with the ABNC during his whole working life, becoming a bit of an icon, as he was the only one who had personally known all the great master engravers of the ABNC from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Among Loizeaux’s stamps are a number of well-known ones engraved for Canada, such as some values for the 1908 Quebec set and the 1935 Silver Jubilee set. Loizeaux’s final known postage stamp was a 1945 stamp for Surinam, but in 1947 he engraved a non-postal label to mark the Centenary of the International Philatelic Exhibition, and his banknote work was released as late as 1949.
In 1948, Loizeaux did a job for the Canadian Bank Note Company. That firm was busy preparing a set for the Bahamas, marking the tercentenary of the settlement of the colony. The frame was to include a portrait of King George VI but their own engraver had not managed to create a good likeness in so small a format, so the CBNC contacted the ABNC to see whether they could produce such an engraving. Loizeaux was given the honour and he did create a tiny portrait of the king to everyone’s satisfaction, and so his portrait was eventually included in the frame which was used for all values of the series.
Elie Timothée Loizeaux passed away on 6 August 1956. His family donated his collection of proofs and burins to the National Museum of American History.
You will find Elie Timothée Loizeaux's database HERE.
Among Loizeaux’s stamps are a number of well-known ones engraved for Canada, such as some values for the 1908 Quebec set and the 1935 Silver Jubilee set. Loizeaux’s final known postage stamp was a 1945 stamp for Surinam, but in 1947 he engraved a non-postal label to mark the Centenary of the International Philatelic Exhibition, and his banknote work was released as late as 1949.
In 1948, Loizeaux did a job for the Canadian Bank Note Company. That firm was busy preparing a set for the Bahamas, marking the tercentenary of the settlement of the colony. The frame was to include a portrait of King George VI but their own engraver had not managed to create a good likeness in so small a format, so the CBNC contacted the ABNC to see whether they could produce such an engraving. Loizeaux was given the honour and he did create a tiny portrait of the king to everyone’s satisfaction, and so his portrait was eventually included in the frame which was used for all values of the series.
You will find Elie Timothée Loizeaux's database HERE.