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Evelyn Arthur Smythies, CIE (19 March 1885Bateman, Robert. ''Stamp collectors' who's who''. London:
Stanley Gibbons The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and phi ...
, 1960, p. 81.
– 10 January 1975), was a distinguished
forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests ...
and
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. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is pos ...
, born of British parents in India. Smythies was an expert on the ecology of
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...
and
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
. His careful studies of the earliest postage stamps of
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
,
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
and Kashmir,
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
, and Canada produced groundbreaking handbooks on which philatelists rely, even today.


Forestry

Born in
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislativ ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, on 19 March 1885 to forestry conservator Arthur Smythies (1847- 1934) and his wife Gertrude (formerly Gertrude Aston), Evelyn Arthur Smythies was educated at
Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent SchoolDay and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...
, and received his degree in geology and a diploma in
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
from
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...
in 1908, then served in the
Indian Forest Service The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. The other two All India Services being the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service. It was constituted in the year 1966 u ...
from 1908 until 1940, based in
Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters ...
. He was Chief Conservator of the Forest of Nepal from 1940 through 1947. Smythies' ''The Forest Wealth of India'' appeared in 1924. That same year, with C. G. Trevor, he authored ''Practical Forestry Management.'' Smythies and
Jim Corbett Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was a British hunter, tracker, naturalist, and author who hunted a number of man-eating tigers and leopards in the Indian subcontinent. He held the rank of colonel in the British Indian ...
proposed that an area around
Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places: Bangladesh * Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division * Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar India Jammu and Kashmir * Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir ** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...
be made a "
National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
" to protect the threatened tigers and other living things. These include the tiger, elephant, chital, sambar, nilgai, gharial, King Cobra, Indian muntjac, wild boar, hedgehog, common musk shrew, flying fox, Indian Pangolin, and nearly 600 species of birds. In 1936, the Hailey National Park came into being as India's first
National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
. It was renamed the Ramganga National Park after India's Independence, but later it was renamed the
Jim Corbett National Park Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state. The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named ''Hailey National Park'' after William ...
in today's
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...
.


Philately

''The Half Anna Lithographed Stamps of India,'' a monograph by Smythies and
Denys R. Martin Colonel Denys Richard Martin (11 October 1892Bateman, Robert. ''Stamp collectors' who's who''. London: Stanley Gibbons, 1960, p. 59. – 1970Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest 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, at its ...
. Other Smythies monographs appeared on the stamps of
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
, written with L. E. Dawson and H. D. S. Haverbeck; and on
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
and Kashmir, written with L. E. Dawson. In 1956 Smythies' interest shifted to Canadian stamps and postal history. He focused on British North America but also included Canadian cancels,
duplex cancel A duplex canceller was a hand stamp used to cancel postage stamps and imprint a dated postmark applied simultaneously with the one device. The device had a steel die, generally circular, which printed the location of the cancel, together with the t ...
s, registered stamps, precancels, rollers, secret dates, Admirals and perforations. Forgers held a special interest for Smythies: these include
Jean de Sperati Giovanni (Jean) de Sperati (14 October 1884 – 28 April 1957) was an Italian stamp forger. Robson Lowe considered him an artist and even professional stamp authenticators of his time attested to the genuineness of his work. Sperati created what ...
,
Angelo Panelli Angelo Panelli (c. 1887 – c. 1967) was an Italian stamp forger, operating from Sanremo in the 1920s and 1930s. Panelli was closely associated with other Italian forgers of the period, particularly Erasmo Oneglia. Tyler, Varro E. (1976) ''Philate ...
and Philip Spiro. Canadian Postal Archives (National Archives of Canada) Accession 1989-565.
/ref> Smythies was active in the philatelic community. He was a Fellow of the
Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest 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, at its ...
and the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain. He was also a leading member of the
Philatelic Society of India The Philatelic Society of India (PSI) was formed in 1897Companion of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No app ...
.


Family

Smythies was the elder brother of Bernard 'Bunny' Smythies (father of Yorick Smythies) and of Enid Smythies (
Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An at ...
' paternal grandmother). His wife, Olive Muriel ''née'' Cripps was the author of ''The Tiger Lady''. Their elder son, Bertram E. Smythies, was known for his work in forestry and the study of birds in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
,
Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java Isl ...
and
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...
. Their younger son, John Raymond Smythies, was a distinguished neuropsychiatrist and neurophilosopher and author of 14 books in these subjects.


Publications

* E. A. Smythies and A. . G.Trevor, '' Practical Forestry Management: a handbook with special reference to the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh,'' Allahabad, Government Press, United Provinces (1923) t Internet Archive">Internet_Archive.html" ;"title="t Internet Archive">t Internet Archive* E. A. Smythies, ''India’s Forest Wealth.'' India of today 4:1–137. London, Humphrey Milford Oxford University Press (1924); Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Oxford University Press (1925) *
Denys R. Martin Colonel Denys Richard Martin (11 October 1892Bateman, Robert. ''Stamp collectors' who's who''. London: Stanley Gibbons, 1960, p. 59. – 1970L.E. Dawson, ''The Postage Stamps of Jammu & Kashmir Simplified'' Philatelic Society of India, The Mall, Lahore (1937
On line excerpts
* E. A. Smythies, ''Big game shooting in Nepal: With leaves from the Maharaja's sporting diary'' Calcutta, Thacker, Spink (1942) * Col. G. L. Roberts and E. A. Smythies, ''The Japanese Occupation Stamps of Burma.''