Varro Eugene Tyler (December 19, 1926 – August 22, 2001), of

Auburn, Nebraska Auburn is a city in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,470 at the 2020 census. History Auburn is an incorporation of two towns. Calvert and Sheridan combined to form Auburn in 1882, in part to hav ...

, was an American professor of

pharmacognosy Pharmacognosy is the study of medicinal plants and other natural substances as sources of drugs. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drug ...

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 ...

who specialized in the study of forged

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the ...

s and the forgers who created them.

Academic career

Tyler graduated in pharmacy from the University of Nebraska in 1949, attended Yale University as an

Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was an American soldier, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and r ...

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

and received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Connecticut in 1951 and 1953. Dr. Tyler was appointed associate professor and chairman of the Department of Pharmacognosy at the University of Nebraska and held similar positions at the University of Washington. Dr. Tyler accepted the appointment as dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Purdue University in 1966 and was closely associated with the Purdue University for the rest of his career. His research interests included medicinal and toxic constituents of higher fungi, phytochemical analysis, alkaloid biosynthesis, drug plant cultivation, and herbal medicine. According to his opinion "true herbalism encompasses scientific testing, honest reporting of the results, and safe use of effective herbs by informed practitioners and the public". He was opposed to what he called "paraherbalism" or "herbalism based on pseudoscience".

Philately

Tyler initially specialized in the postage stamps of Japan, and studied forged copies of classic Japanese stamps. He wrote substantial literature on stamp forgery, including ''Philatelic Forgers: Their Lives and Works'' (1976; revised and expanded in 1991) and a regular feature in ''

Linn's Stamp News ''Linn's Stamp News'' is an American weekly magazine for stamp collectors. It is published by Amos Media Co., which also publishes the Scott ''Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue'', the Scott ''Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Cove ...

'' which was compiled as the book ''Focus on Forgeries: A Guide to Forgeries of Common Stamps'' (2000). During his long association with the International Society for Japanese Philately, Tyler co-authored a number of monographs on forged Japanese stamps: ''Forgeries and Imitations of the Dragon Stamps of Japan'' (1971), ''The Wada Cherry Blossom Forgeries'' (1974), and ''The Koban Forgeries of Japan'' (1979). "Tip" Tyler chaired the

American Philatelic Society The American Philatelic Society (APS) is the largest nonprofit stamp collecting foundation of philately in the world. Both the membership and interests of the society are worldwide. History The organization, originally named the ''American Phil ...

's Committee on Fakes and Forgeries from its inception in 1992 until 1998. He also conducted classes at the American Philatelic Society on "Detecting Fakes and Forgeries." He was awarded the Meritorious Service Award of the Korea Stamp Society and the

Luff Award The Luff Award is awarded by the American Philatelic Society (commonly known as the APS) for meritorious contributions to philately by living philatelists. Established The award was established in 1940 in memory of John N. Luff, distinguished ph ...

for Distinguished Philatelic Research in 1998. He was named to the

American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame The American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame award honors deceased philatelists who have contributed significantly to the field of national and/or international philately. History The APS ''Hall of Fame'' award was founded at the 1940 American ...

in 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Varro Eugene 1926 births 2001 deaths American Philatelic Society American philatelists Critics of alternative medicine Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science People from Auburn, Nebraska Philatelic literature University of Connecticut alumni University of Nebraska alumni

Academic career

Philately

See also

References