Raymond Francis Alfred Riesco (15 July 1877 – 9 March 1964) was a British insurance broker at LLOYDS and director of Price Forbes who is remembered both as a

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

(he was added to the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921 to honour those who have advanced philately through research, expertise, or service. ...

in 1951); and as a collector of

Chinese ceramics Chinese ceramics are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. They range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese ...

Collections

As a philatelist, Riesco was a specialist in the stamps of the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

. He joined the

Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philately, 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 ...

in 1922, later becoming a vice-president. He formed important collections of Chile and Mexico, but later specialised in the Cape of Good Hope, his collection of which was shown at most of the important exhibitions between the world wars. He also collected Chinese pottery and porcelain, and was a founder member of the Oriental Ceramic Society in 1921. He bequeathed his collection to the

County Borough of Croydon The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London. His ...

, and it is now held by the Museum of Croydon where it is displayed in the Riesco Gallery. In 2013, the museum put 24 items from the collection up for sale at auction, an action that led to its being stripped of its accreditation with

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

Death

Riesco died at his home, Heathfield, Addington, Croydon, on 9 March 1964.

References

Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists 1877 births 1964 deaths British philatelists Philately of South Africa Collectors of Asian art {{UK-philatelist-stub