SUMMARY:
Magazine clipping profiling Miss Joan B. Procter’s appointment as Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoological Gardens, noting E. G. Boulenger’s move to direct the new aquarium and her prior work at the British Museum of Natural History. It also discusses the appeal and design of aquariums, referencing examples at Monaco and New York.

CONTENT:
THE
WORLD'S
WORK
SEPTEMBER 1923
MEN AND WOMEN OF
TO-DAY

A CURATOR OF REPTILES
ON the appointment of Miss Joan B.
Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., to be a
Curator of Reptiles at the London
Zoological Gardens the funny men,
from "Mr. Punch" downwards, had a great
day. There were any number of weak jokes
about the modern snake-charmer; and "Mr.
Punch" opined that the opportunity had at
last arrived for Woman to be revenged upon
the Serpent.
But, seriously, her assumption of this office
adds another to the many strange occupations
which are now open to, and have lately been
taken up by, women of to-day. Miss Procter
succeeded to her position because Mr. E. G.
Boulenger, who has been Curator of Reptiles,
has been appointed Director of the new
aquarium. For some time to come he will
exercise a general supervision over reptiles;
but he has of late been fully occupied by the
construction of the new aquarium; and when
the tanks are ready for occupation it is
anticipated that his new duties will leave
him little opportunity for work elsewhere.
Mr. Boulenger's family has long been asso-
ciated with Natural History, for he is a son
of Dr. G. A. Boulenger, who was for many
years Chief of the Department of Reptiles,
Batrachians and Fishes at the British Museum
of Natural History. It is due to his son that
the reptile house at the Zoo has been so
greatly improved, and that it contains one of
the finest collections in the world.
But, to go back to our subject, Miss Procter
will assume her duties in the late autumn.
She was educated at St. Paul's School for
Girls; and since 1916 has worked in the
Reptile Department at the British Museum
of Natural History first as a voluntary
assistant to Dr. Boulenger, and, since his
retirement, in charge of the department.
There is no doubt whatever of her ability
and efficiency. She has written a large
number of papers on the anatomy, classifica-
tion and habits of reptiles and batrachians;
and has for a long time kept a private collec-
tion of living snakes and batrachians.
Although she is still working in the Reptile
Department in the Museum of Natural History
as its chief, she has also been assisting at the
Zoo in designing rockwork for the aquarium
tanks, which promise soon to be such an
attractive feature of London life.
No one familiar with the exceedingly
beautiful aquariums in the Oceanographical
Museum at Monaco or on the Battery at
New York can fail to realise the possibilities
of these institutions. Those who have not
seen them cannot imagine the beauty of
properly designed and decorated tanks set
in windows through which the light plays
not only upon gorgeously coloured fishes
and marine monsters in all shades of red and
grey, gold and silver, but also upon masses
of coral branches, deep-sea weeds and grasses
and shells of all shapes and sizes, both with

MISS JOAN B. PROCTER
325

SUMMARY:
Article by Chrystabel Procter profiling her sister Joan B. Procter's lifelong dedication to herpetology, including training under Dr. G. A. Boulenger, publications, and society fellowships. It notes her upcoming role as Curator of Reptiles at the Zoological Gardens and her design work for aquarium rockwork at the Mappin Terraces.

CONTENT:
THE WOMAN'S LEADER.
AUGUST 10, 1923.

A WOMAN HERPETOLOGIST.

By CHRYSTABEL PROCTER.

Entomology and other branches of zoology can be, and often
are, begun comparatively late in life, but the herpetologist is
born a herpetologist.

As soon as she was old enough to express her thoughts, my
sister (Joan B. Procter) announced that she intended to spend
her life in the study of reptiles, and until now she certainly has
kept her word.

From ten to eighteen, she was educated at St. Paul's Girls'
School, where her ambition was treated sympathetically, though
I do not think anyone took it very seriously. She was
taught no biology—zoology was not included in the curriculum
until the term after she left, but she was allowed in the higher
forms to specialize in Geology, Physics, Chemistry, and Mathe-
matics. Out of school, almost the whole of her time was spent
in studying zoology.

She kept a large collection of reptile pets, from the time she
was a small child, and has always had the knack of taming them
very quickly. She believes she is safe with snakes, because
she has no fear of them. It is fear, she says, that makes the
danger. Young children are not, as a rule, afraid of reptiles
until made afraid by adults. At eighteen, her scientific education
began at the Natural History Museum, where she had the amazing
good luck to be trained for three years by Dr. G. A. Boulenger.
No other training could have fitted her so well for the work she
is doing now. I have heard her say many times that she owes all
her success to his patience and kindness. Dr. Boulenger was
the greatest living authority on reptiles, batrachians, and fish;
and in recent years has become a distinguished botanist.

My sister first met him when, as a child, she took a small
pet crocodile to the Museum to be named correctly. Other
visits followed and, when she left school, she went to work under
his supervision. Besides teaching her science, he encouraged
her to do independent research work, and instructed her in
the routine work of the Museum. She read papers before the
Zoological Society—the first when she was nineteen, and she
had much practice in the working out and naming of collections
from foreign museums.

When Dr. Boulenger retired in 1920, he arranged that she should
carry on his work, and this she has done ever since.

Her duties have included routine work such as the writing up
of reports, registers, and catalogues; the answering of letters
from all over the world on the subject of reptiles and batrachians;
the naming of museum and private collections; the describing
of new species, and the general supervision of students of
herpetology.

Some 3,000 specimens have passed through her hands; she has
published many scientific papers and compiled the Zoological
Record (Reptiles and Batrachians) for 1920 and 1921.

She is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, the
Linnean Society, and the Bombay Natural History Society.

At home she has kept a private collection of living creatures,
which has latterly included rare and delicate batrachians from
collectors abroad.

Her work as Curator of Reptiles at the Zoological Gardens
will commence in November, and will include care of the living
collection and research. She is looking forward to it very much.
It is not usual in England for a woman to be offered such a post,
or to have enjoyed such training, and my sister feels herself to
be unusually fortunate. Abroad, however, especially in America,
there is more scope for women. A Miss Dickerson was for some
time head of the Department of Herpetology in the New York
Museum, and Dr. Nelly de Rooij now holds a similar position
in Leiden.

My sister is at present engaged in designing the rockwork
for the tanks in the new Aquarium, under the Mappin Terraces,
at the Zoo. This has, of course, nothing whatever to do with
her herpetological work. There are to be about sixty tanks,
all different, and each one geologically correct and suited to the
habits of the creatures which are to live in it. The designs
include studies in many kinds of natural rock. My sister makes
small models, scale two inches to the foot, and these are copied by
craftsmen.

SUMMARY:
Publishers T. Werner Laurie Ltd. write to Miss Joan B. Procter at the Zoological Society of London, expressing disappointment that she cannot write a book on reptiles at present and asking her to keep the project in mind.

CONTENT:
T. WERNER LAURIE LTD.
Publishers
30 NEW BRIDGE STREET
BLACKFRIARS
LONDON, E.C. 4.
Telephone: 1162 CENTRAL
Inland Telegrams: "LAURICLIF, FLEET, LONDON"
Foreign Telegrams: "LAURICLIP, LONDON"

Miss Joan B. Procter, July
Zoological Society of London, 30th,
Regent's Park, N.W.8. 1923.

Dear Madam,

We are in receipt of your letter of
the 28th and are of course disappointed that
you are unable to find time to write a book on
reptiles at present. We hope that you will
keep the matter in mind and if at any time you
are able to complete such a work that you will
favour us with the MSS.

Faithfully yours,

SUMMARY:
Clippings report new arrivals at the Regent's Park Reptile House—Hardwick's Mastigures, a pigmy chameleon, a blue-tongued lizard, and several snakes—and note their behaviors and origins. Another article from the Public Ledger (Philadelphia) announces that Miss Joan Proctor has been chosen to take charge of the reptile house at the London Zoo in 1933.

CONTENT:
NEW REPTILES AT
THE ZOO.
LIZARD'S TONGUE LIKE PIECE
OF BRIGHT BLUE CLOTH,
PIGMY CHAMELEON.

Within the last few days the collection ex-
hibited in the Reptile House at Regent's
Park has been enriched by the arrival of a
number of new lizards and snakes of great
interest, which still further add to the many
attractions offered by this popular section of
the Zoo.
Of the lizards, the curious and strangely-
named Hardwick's Mastigures are among the
most noteworthy, both by reason of their un-
usual appearance and characteristic habits.
These reptiles belong to a group known as
Spiny-tailed lizards, all the members of which
are provided with thick, rather short though
well-developed tails, bearing numerous sharp
spines arranged in a series of rings.
The head is very short and rounded, while the
teeth, instead of being small and conical as in the
better-known lizards, are few in number and
united into broad grinding or cutting surfaces.
Vegetable Feeders.
The reason for this special modification is that
the Spiny-tails are all vegetable feeders, where-
as the typical lizards subsist, for the main part
at least, on animal food in the form of insects,
worms, etc.
These sombrely coloured and rather grotesque
creatures present a strange appearance as they
recline lazily on the sand of their cases, placidly
munching oats or maize, their unhurried move-
ments and benign expression being well in keep-
ing with their gentle and inoffensive disposition.
In a state of nature the Hardwick's Mastigure
occurs in the desert region of Baluchistan and
Northern India, where it lives in burrows, from
which it is dislodged only with the utmost diffi-
culty. When attacked it will cling firmly to
the walls of its retreat with its limbs, hanging on
with remarkable pertinacity, at the same time
blocking the entrance to the burrow with its
stout, spiny tail.
Changing Colour.
A pigmy chameleon is another newcomer, and
though of very diminutive stature—its body ex-
clusive of the tail measuring but little more than
three inches—has many features to recommend
it to public notice.
Like the larger species, this bizarre little crea-
ture possesses the faculty of changing colour in
an extraordinary degree, and even within the
confines of its comparatively small case is not
easily recognised, so closely does the hue of its
skin harmonise with whatever object the reptile
may choose as a resting place.
The deception is still further assisted by the
laterally compressed body and the attitudes
assumed by the animal, which will remain quite
motionless for hours together, only exhibiting
evidence of life by rolling its globe-like eyes, each
of which is kept in constant movement inde-
pendently of the other.
Unlike the majority of chameleons the pigmy
species gives birth to living young, as many as
twelve little ones—perfect miniatures of their
parents—being produced at a single birth.

A CHAMELEON.

Blue-tongued Lizard.
A blue-tongued lizard, with a tongue like a
piece of bright blue cloth; Indo-Chinese and
Indian rat snakes, well known in India as valu-
able vermin destroyers; a rare spot-ringed snake
from Brazil, and some Indian cobras are also
included among the animals which have just
arrived at the Gardens.
E.R.D.

PUBLIC LEDGER—PHILADELPHIA
SATURDAY MORNING, JULY 21, 1933

Girl Chosen to Take Charge
of Snakes at London Zoo

Member of Noted Scientific Societies Has
Made Reptiles Her Hobby Since
Early Childhood

Public Ledger Foreign Service
Copyright, 1933, by Public Ledger Company
London, July 20.—(By Wireless.)—
Miss Joan Proctor, who at twenty-five
years of age already sports two sets
of initials after her name, has realized
the ambition of her life. She has become
the world's greatest snake charmer,
and within a few months will assume
her new duties as mistress of the reptile
house at the London Zoo. She was
busy preparing models for the rock-
work which is to adorn the new home
now being built for her charges today.
Joan has been on intimate terms with
snakes since early girlhood. She has the
utmost contempt for those of her sex
or mere males who prefer almost any
other creature to a snake for a pet.
Collecting snakes, lizards, frogs, toads
and other members of the reptile fam-
ily has been her hobby since she was
ten years old—a tendency possibly in-
herited from her grandfather, who was a
distinguished entomologist.
Joan became assistant to the curator
of reptiles at the Zoological Gardens
when she was eighteen. She read her
first paper on snakes before the Zoologi-
cal Society a later and at twenty
became a fellow of that society. Two
weeks ago she was elected a fellow of
the Linnean Society of London, one of
the world's foremost scientific bodies.
But Joan has equipment other than
mental for her work. She looks like a
snake charmer—diminutive, sinuous,
with the jet black hair and beady, glit-
tering eyes. She is fully impressed with
the dignity of her new position. Today
she declared her intention to heed
closely the unwritten ethics of her pro-
fession.
"I really cannot grant an interview,"
she said, and then disappeared as mys-
teriously as one of her charges.

SUMMARY:
Press clippings announce that Miss Joan Procter, aged 25, has been appointed Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoo. Articles describe her background, training under Dr. Boulenger, early expertise with reptiles, and recognition by scientific societies.

CONTENT:
THE "DAILY EXPRESS"
LONDON, FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1923.

GIRL SNAKE EXPERT.

APPOINTED TO RULE THE ZOO REPTILES.

25 YEARS OLD.

INHERITED POWER TO CHARM.

MISS JOAN PROCTER, F.Z.S., F.L.S., an Englishwoman of twenty-five, has been appointed curator of reptiles at the Zoo. She will have complete charge of dozens of venomous cobras, deadly pythons, boa constrictors, alligators, and crocodiles.

Miss Procter, unknown to the world at large, is famous among

Mrs. Procter opened a glass cage in her drawing-room, and six beautiful Brazilian snakes, which were sent to her daughter as a gift, were brought out. She allowed them to climb and wriggle and coil round her arm.

"At the age of ten my daughter had her first snake as a pet," Mrs. Procter added. "She also kept many lizards, some of them remarkably tame. One day she received a large and valuable crocodile as a present, and we took it

to Dr. C. A. Boulenger, the famous chief of the department of reptiles at the Natural History Museum at South Kensington.

"He was astonished at my daughter's knowledge of ophiology, and offered to train her in the subject when she left St. Paul's School. She became his assistant when she was eighteen, and when he resigned she was appointed to his post."

Scientists in South Africa and South America have sent Miss Procter rare and deadly reptiles from jungles and swamps. Occasionally a crate of them has been overturned on arrival, and they have been spilled on the floor. Miss Procter, without the slightest fear, has collected the poisonous creatures from their hiding places.

She read her first paper, on the pit snake, before the Zoological Society at the age of nineteen. She was made a Fellow of the society at twenty. She was elected a Fellow of the Linnæan Society, one of the foremost scientific organisations in the world, a fortnight ago. She is also a Fellow of the Zoological Society of Bombay, and last year was offered a remunerative post by the Zoological Society of New York.

MISS JOAN PROCTER.
"Daily Express" photograph.

zoologists as one of the greatest snake experts of the day.

The large, airy room in the basement of the Museum of Natural History, South Kensington, in which she works, is filled with deadly snakes, some bottled and some alive.

"Her interest in the subject is probably hereditary," said her mother to a "Daily Express" representative yesterday. Her grandfather was a famous entomologist."
(AMATEUR GEOLOGIST)

DAILY CHRONICLE.
FRIDAY, JULY 20. 1923.

WOMAN AS CURATOR OF REPTILES.

Miss J. Procter's Appointment at the London Zoo.

Miss Joan Proctor, F.Z.S., F.L.S., will take up in November the position of curator of reptiles at the Zoo, in place of Mr. F. G. Boulenger, who is to become director of the new aquarium.

Miss Proctor, who was educated at St. Paul's School for Girls, worked for some years with Dr. G. A. Boulenger. The newly appointed curator told a "Daily Chronicle" representative last night that she has been interested in reptiles and frogs since her school days, and keeps her own collection now in tanks in her Kensington home.

CURATOR OF REPTILES.
Miss Joan B. Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., has been appointed Curator of Reptiles at the Zoo.
-(Daily Sketch.)

SUMMARY:
A set of newspaper clippings reports Miss Joan Procter’s appointment as curator of reptiles at the Zoological Gardens and profiles her expertise with snakes. Additional short items cover women’s higher education at Cambridge, married women’s financial dependence, international peace efforts, and grants for women sculptors.

CONTENT:
FRIDAY, JULY 27, 1923. THE VOTE 235

WOMEN AT HOME AND ABROAD.

Empty Titles at Cambridge.
One hundred and twenty-two Cambridge women
students have recently received diplomas of the title
of the degree of B.A. Fifty belong to Girton, and
seventy-two to Newnham. Ninety-six women students
have received diplomas of the title of the degree of
M.A. Thirty-six belong to Girton, and sixty to Newn-
ham. Two Girton students have also obtained, respec-
tively, diplomas for Bachelor of Law, and one for Mas-
ter of Law. The number of students in residence during
the last Easter term were 180 at Girton, and 257 at
Newnham.

Woman Curator's Appointment.
Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., has been ap-
pointed curator of reptiles at the Zoological Gardens,
and will assume her duties in the late autumn. Miss
Proctor was educated at St. Paul's School for Girls,
and, since 1916, has worked in the reptile department
at the British Museum, first as voluntary assistant to
Dr. Boulenger, and, since his retirement, in charge.
She is the author of a large number of papers on the
anatomy, classification, and habits of reptiles and
batrachians, and for many years has kept a private
collection of living snakes, frogs, and lizards.

Married Women's Dependence.
Speaking at a recent women's luncheon party at the
Lyceum Club, Mrs. Champion de Crespigny said that,
while the unmarried woman now had opportunities not
thought of in the last century, the married woman of
small means was cramped and nullified by her absolute
dependence. A married woman should be entitled to a
definite proportion of the salary of her husband, and it
ought not to be given as a favour.

Women and Peace.
At the recent meeting of the Board of Officers of the
International Council of Women, held at the House of
Cromar, Aberdeenshire, it was decided to hold a Con-
ference of women's international organisations next
March in London, to discuss the "Prevention of the
causes of War, and how women can promote World
Peace."

Grants for Women Sculptors.
It has been decided to use the money collected for the
Lady Feodora Gleichen Memorial Fund, amounting to
over £2,000, in giving grants to women sculptors for
the purpose of their work. The original object of the
Fund was to provide studios and materials for women
sculptors.

Cutting from the Birmingham Weekly Post
Address of Publication
Issue dated 28-7-27

English Lady Snake Charmer.
Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., who
has just been appointed curator of reptiles
at the Zoo, is English, and only twenty-five
years of age. She will have complete charge
of dozens of venomous cobras, deadly
pythons, boa constrictors, alligators and croco-
diles. Miss Procter, though unknown to the
world at large, is famous among zoologists
as one of the greatest snake experts of the
day, and her interest in the subject is
probably hereditary, as her grandfather was
a famous entomologist, and she had her
first pet snake when she was only ten years
old.

Cutting from the Hampstead Advertiser
Address of Publication
Issue dated 26-4-29.

Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., has been
appointed curator of the reptile house at
the Zoological Gardens. She is regarded
as one of the greatest experts on snakes
in the world.

Cutting from the Manchester Evening News
Address of Publication
Issue dated 28-7-29

Eve and the Serpents.
AT the Zoo in London a girl has been
appointed curator of reptiles. This
unusual course has been adopted because
the lady, Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S.,
is one of the leading authorities on these
rather terrifying creatures. Ever since
she was a tiny child Miss Procter has
been fond of reptiles, and her list of pets were
of a nature to terrify the average person. She
read every book that dealt with snakes and
lizards, so that when she came in contact with
men who made a life study of reptiles they were
amazed at her knowledge. She adopted her
present career on leaving school, Miss Joan
Procter's fame has penetrated over the world.
The Zoological Society of Bombay made her a
Fellow, and American experts held her in high
regard. She is also one of the experts at the
Museum of Natural History at South Kensing-
ton, and loves and fondles dangerous serpents
as an average woman would pet kittens and
puppies.

SUMMARY:
Press cuttings report Miss Joan Proctor’s appointment as curator of reptiles at the London Zoo, describe her lifelong interest in reptiles and her unusual pets, and note her experiments with axolotls. Additional New Zealand clippings reprise the news and include a light verse celebrating her fearlessness.

CONTENT:
Cutting from the Dundee Telegraph
Address of Publication
Issue dated

23. 7. 23

GIRL ZOO CURATOR AND
HER QUEER PALS.
Boa Constrictor and
Crocodile as Playmates.
Turning a "Water Creature" Dry.

Miss Joan Proctor, the young girl who
has been appointed curator of reptiles at
the London Zoo, is somewhat shy to talk
about her life work, which has been the
study of creatures from which the average
person turns with a shudder.

A slightly-built, smiling girl, with a pleasant
expression, she is now busily engaged
in the new aquarium in course of construction
at the Zoo.

It was with reluctance that she admitted
her identity. Asked when she began to be
interested in snakes, she replied—

"I never did begin, I have always been
interested in them. I have worked among
them since the time I left school. I have
been at the Natural History Museum so far,
and I am coming to my new post here in
November.

"Yes, I have kept a great many pets of
all sorts," she continued. "Which is the
most unusual? Oh, they are all considered
unusual. Among them was a boa constrictor.
It is in the reptile house now—five
feet long and perfectly tame. I kept it at
home, and usually had it loose. It was shut
up at night. Of course, I did not allow it
to be about in the same room with the
cat. It would have eaten pussy.

"I have also had a crocodile, an alligator,
and all sorts of snakes and lizards. I have
never had the slightest trouble with them.
They were all great pets and quite tame."
When asked if she had trained any of her
peculiar pets to do tricks, Miss Proctor
merely smiled and said she did not want
anything theatrical to be said about her and
her pets.

She thinks, however, that the reptile
house is one of the most popular places in
the Zoo, especially with children.
"Children," she said, "are not afraid of
the reptiles."

Miss Proctor's own collection of animals,
it may be added, is a considerable one.
The crocodile to which she referred was her
playmate when she was quite a little girl
of seven years old. It, however, only lived
two years.

To see her making friends with a Brazilian
mongoose snake, which is one of her
favourites at present, would scare the ordinary
girl. A small python is also one of
her present possessions, and she has a number
of lizards.

Recently she succeeded with certain experiments
in regard to axolotls. She
managed to change the habits of one of
them by scientifically reducing his allowance
of water, and transformed it from a water
creature to a land creature.

New Zealand
DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, JULY 21, 1923.
THE EVENING STAR,
WOMAN AS SNAKE EXPERT.
IMPORTANT APPOINTMENT.

LONDON, July 20.
(Received July 21, at 11 a.m.)
The Daily Express says that Miss
Joan Proctor, an English girl, aged
twenty-five, has been appointed curator
of reptiles at the London Zoological Gardens.
Her grandfather was a famous herpetologist.
Miss Proctor had her first
pet snake when she was ten years of age.
One day she received a crocodile as a present,
and took it to Dr Boulenger, head of
the department of reptiles in the Natural
History Museum at South Kensington.
He was astonished at Miss Proctor's
knowledge, and offered to train her. She
became Dr Boulenger's assistant when she
was eighteen, and succeeded him when he
resigned. She is one of the greatest
snake experts in the world, and is a
fellow of the Zoological and Linnæan Societies.—A.
and N.Z. Cable.

DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, JULY 28, 1923.
THE EVENING STAR.
New Zealand

Joan Proctor was a little maid
Who never learnt to be afraid
Of caterpillars, slugs, or worms,
Or anything that creeps or squirm.

The birthday gift that first would fill her
With gladness was a caterpillar.
But great was her rejoicing when,
Attaining to the age of ten,
Some kindly friend contrived to make
A present of a lovely snake.

This gift with some might well beget
Dislike of a reptilian pet;
But Joan's small soul was tickled greatly.
She loved that serpent passionately!
And often (when the day was fine)
She bathed it in the Serpentine.
This lasted for a little while,
And then the sweetest crocodile,
With legs and jaws and tail complete,
Was sent her for a birthday treat.

Too lovely to enjoy alone,
She took it to South Kensington.
Thus opened her career of fame,
And soon our heroine became
The highest number on the lists
Of female serpentologists.
So great her reputation grew
That now she's been promoted to
Command the snake-house at the Zoo!

MORAL
So, little girls, be sure you keep
From fear of things that crawl and creep.
Whene'er you're terrified or scared,
Just think of how Joan Proctor fared.

SUMMARY:
Press clippings report Miss Joan Proctor’s appointment as curator of reptiles at the London Zoological Gardens, highlighting her expertise with snakes and her work at the British Museum and South Kensington’s Natural History Museum. Items include notices from Ottawa, the New York Tribune, and the Adelaide Register dated October 1923.

CONTENT:
OTTAWA
BOSSES SNAKES.
City (Ottawa)

Miss Joan Proctor, an English
girl of 25, has just been appointed
curator of reptiles at the London
Zoological Gardens. She is one of
the best known experts on snakes
in the world.

RULES SNAKES

JEAN PROCTOR.
(Kadri & Herbert Photo.)
This young woman has special-
ized in the study of reptiles and is
said to be able to handle snakes
which would be enraged at the
touch of the ordinary person and
show the resentment by a poison-
ous bite. Miss Proctor recently be-
came curator of reptiles at the Lon-
don Zoological gardens.

from the
Press of Publication
dated
Register
Adelaide
Oct 16-1923

CURATOR OF REPTILES AT THE LONDON "ZOO," MISS
JOAN PROCTOR, WITH A FRIEND.

Preserving reptile to the daily occupation of Miss Joan Proc-
tor, F.Z.S., F.L.S. In her spare time she studies their habits. One
of the greatest experts on snakes in her day, Miss Proctor has
worked since 1916 in the reptile department at the British
Museum—first as a voluntary assistant, and then as expert in
charge. She is the author of a large number of papers on the
anatomy, classification, and habits of reptiles and batrachians,
and owns a private collection of living specimens.

Cutting from the
Address of Publication
Issue dated
Register
Adelaide
Oct 11/23

Her Reptilian Family.
The second of the lady curators ap-
pointed by the Zoological Society, Miss
Joan Proctor, will take over her duties
in charge of the reptiles at Regent's Park
during the autumn. Miss Proctor has
plenty of practical experience of these
strange pets, for, apart from work which
she has fulfilled in the reptile department,
of the museum at South Kensington, she
has for several years kept a private collec-
tion of live snakes and batrachians. She
has designed the whole of the rockwork
for the new aquarium at the Zoo.

NEW YORK
TRIBUNE
Reptiles Put
Under Care of
Woman Expert

Snakes Are Special Pets of
Miss Joan Proctor, Who
Has Been Appointed as a
Curator in London Zoo

New York Trib. LONDON,
Snakes and crocodiles are not, per-
haps, the most pleasant creatures with
which to live, but Miss Joan Proctor
evidently thinks otherwise. This
young Englishwoman has just been
appointed curator of the reptile house
at the London Zoological Gardens,
where she will have entire charge of
the cobras, the pythons, the alligators
and all the other reptiles.
Miss Proctor's grandfather was a
famous entomologist, so possibly her
interest and aptitude in the subject
are inherited. It certainly looks as
though she is going to become as well
known as he was, for already she is
looked on by zoologists as one of the
greatest of snake experts.
When in her very early teens she
happened to visit the chief of the rep-
tile department at the South Kensing-
ton Natural History Museum and so
astonished him by her knowledge of
ophiology—she had kept snakes and
lizards as pets since her tenth birth-
day—that he offered to train her in
the subject. Accordingly, as soon as
she left school she became Dr. Bou-
lenger's assistant, this at the age of
eighteen, and when he resigned she
was appointed to his post. Last year
the New York Zoological Society of-
fered her a job, but she would not
leave the Kensington Museum. Now,
of course, she will have to give up her
work there.
The young expert came into real
contact with the zoological society at
the age of nineteen when she read her
first paper, on pit snakes, before them.
A year later they made her F. Z. S.
At the beginning of July she gained
another distinction by being elected
F. L. S., Fellow of the Linnean Society,
one of the foremost scientific organi-
zations in the world.
Being surrounded by snakes during
her attendance at the zoo apparently
is not enough for Miss Proctor, and
she keeps six Brazilian snakes in a
glass cage in her drawing-room. These
were sent her as a gift. Noted scien-
tists in South America and South
Africa have frequently sent rare and
deadly reptiles to England, knowing
her interest, and most of these she
keeps at her own home.

SUMMARY:
Newspaper cuttings report record attendance at the Zoological Society's Gardens, the near-completion of the Aquarium, and staffing changes including Miss Joan Procter becoming Curator of Reptiles. Articles from The Times, Cape Argus, Sunday Mail (Brisbane), and Yorkshire Post highlight new zoo arrivals and Procter's expertise with reptiles.

CONTENT:
THE TIMES, SATURDAY,
DECEMBER 29, 1923.

THE ZOO IN 1923.

RECENT ADDITIONS.
Although there is still the attendance on
Sunday and the attendance and gate money
of Monday to be placed to the credit of the
year, 1923 has already established a "record"
in the history of the Zoological Society. The
number of visitors has been over 1,600,000—
that is to say, larger than the total of 1920,
which until now was the largest attendance in
any one year. The gate money has increased
in proportion also, and the total number of
Fellows, as well as the number of new Fellows
elected, and the receipts from subscriptions,
are also the largest in the history of the
Society.
There have been, too, an unusual number
of important additions to the collection, so
that now there is an exceptionally fine display
of mammals, birds, reptiles, and batrachians.
Among the additions of special interest are a
young African elephant presented by Sir
Horace Byatt, two young giraffes, purchased
from the Sudan and South Africa respectively,
two great anteaters, purchased from South
America, and the recently acquired walrus.
There have been important changes of staff.
Mr. R. I. Pocock, formerly superintendent,
has retired on pension on attaining the age
of 60, and has been replaced by Dr. G. M.
Vevers; Mr. D. Seth Smith, formerly Curator
of Birds, has been promoted to be Resident
Curator of Mammals and Birds; Mr. E. G.
Boulenger has left the Reptile House to be-
come Director of the new Aquarium, and has
been succeeded by Miss Joan B. Procter, who
was formerly in charge of the reptiles and
batrachians at the British Museum. The staff
of keepers has been subjected to careful sur-
vey, and there have been rewards and promo-
tions for the more competent, while some of
the older men have been retired on pension.
The Council and the Garden Committee
have made great efforts to improve the general
condition of the animals and of the gardens,
and much more than has been possible in
recent years has been done to improve the
general hygienic conditions and to repair and
redecorate houses and enclosures. The largest
and most expensive work of the year has been
the construction of the Aquarium. This is
now practically completed, only minor details
of lighting and decoration being still in hand.
The difficult business of stocking has begun,
and it is anticipated that it will be opened
to Fellows and the public in the first fort-
night of April.

ZOO VISITORS: A RECORD.
During 1923 the visitors to the Zoological
Society's Gardens, Regent's Park, numbered
1,613,125, an increase of 185,276 as compared
with 1922.
The number of visitors last year was the
largest in the history of the Society.

from the Yorkshire Post
of Publication Leeds
Dated. 24.12.29
HOLIDAYS IN LONDON.

HOW TO ENTERTAIN THE
CHILDREN.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
"NO," the clerk in a large theatre
office told me, "they don't dare
to try new Christmas plays in the
West End. The old favourites are good
enough for them. You must go to the
theatres further out if you want something
new in the way of plays for the children
this Christmas."

The morning is often a difficult time to
entertain children in London, but the Zoo is
always open, and several new and interest-
ing inmates have arrived since last holidays.
Small boys frequently have a liking
for creepy beasts, and the new reptile
house, presided over by that young snake
charmer, Miss Joan Procter, should give
them the necessary thrills. Baby animals
to rejoice the heart of the motherly little
girl are also plentiful at the Zoo this
Christmas. There is Percy, the six-
months-old pigmy hippopotamus, already
becoming quite friendly with visitors,
while in a pen close by is the slightly older
African baby elephant. It is amusing to
see Andy, the youthful walrus, being fed,
for, although he is five months old, he has
not a single tooth, and his food—cut up
strips of cod fish—is placed in his mouth
by his attendant. For sheer grace and
agility, the baby antelopes surpass any-
thing I have ever seen, and one can under-
stand their having an audience round their
cage quite as enthusiastic as that which
greets the Fairy Queen in the pantomime.

Telephone No. Central 7980.
International Press-Cutting Bureau

14. New Bridge Street, London, E.C.4.

Extract from
CAPE ARGUS
CAPE TOWN.

Date

13. DEC 1923

Girl Curator of Reptiles.—The new
Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoo-
logical Gardens is a young woman. Miss
Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., is a
recognised authority in this branch of
science: in fact, she is said to know
more about snakes and reptiles than
any woman in the world. Until now
she has been in charge of the Reptile
Department at the British Museum of
Natural History. Miss Procter has a
special instinct for the handling of
poisonous snakes. She has not the
slightest dread of any kind of reptile.

International Press-Cutting Bureau,

Extract from
SUNDAY MAIL
BRISBANE.

Date 4 NOV 1923

CURATOR OF REPTILES

Woman Appointed

Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., an
Englishwoman of 25, has been appointed
curator of reptiles at the Zoo in London.
She has complete charge of dozens of
venomous cobras, deadly pythons, boa
constrictors, alligators and crocodiles.
Miss Procter, unknown to the world
at large, is famous among zoologists as
one of the greatest snake experts of the
day. The large, tiny room in the base-
ment of the Museum of Natural History,
South Kensington, in which she works
is filled with deadly snakes, some bottled
and some alive.
"Her interest in the subject is pro-
bably hereditary," said her mother
a Press correspondent. "Her grandfather
was a famous entomologist."
Miss Procter opened a glass cage in
her drawing-room and six beautiful
Brazilian snakes, which were sent to her
daughter as a gift, she allowed them to
climb and wriggle and coil around her arm.
"At the age of ten my daughter had
her first snake as a pet." Mrs. Procter
added. "She also kept many lizards, most
of them remarkably tame. One day she
received a large and valuable crocodile
as a present, and we took it to Dr. G. A.
Boulenger, the famous chief of the de-
partment of reptiles at the Natural
History Museum at South Kensington.
"He was astonished at my daughter's
knowledge of ophiology, and offered to
train her on the subject when she left
St. Paul's School. She became his assis-
tant when she was 18, and when he re-
signed she was appointed to his post.
Scientists in South Africa and South
America have sent Miss Procter rare and
deadly reptiles from jungles and swamps.
Occasionally a crate for them has been
overturned on arrival, and they have
been spilled on the floor. Miss Procter,
without the slightest fear, has collected
the poisonous creatures from their hiding
places.
She read her first paper on "The Pygmy
Snake," before the Zoological Society at
the age of 19. She was made a Fellow of
the society at 20. She was elected a
Fellow of the Linnaean Society, one of
the foremost scientific organisations in
the world, last August. She is also a
Fellow of the Zoological Society of Bom-
bay, and last year was offered a remu-
nerative post by the Zoological Society of
New York.

SUMMARY:
Press cuttings profile Miss Joan Procter/Proctor as Curator of Reptiles at the Zoological Gardens of London, noting her expertise, refusal of a New York offer, and her design work for the new aquarium. Items also mention E. G. Boulenger’s appointment to direct the aquarium and related details.

CONTENT:
Snake Expert.
THE AMERICAN
AUG. 1923

Photo by Kadel & Herbert.
MISS JOAN PROCTOR.
Not an ordinary snake charmer
is Miss Proctor, F. Z. S. F. L. S.,
but Curator of Reptiles at the
Zoological Gardens of London.
She is an English girl, twenty-five
years of age, and regarded the
greatest authority on snakes in
the world. She recently refused
an offer from the New York
Zoological Society.

Le Matin (Paris)

11. Aug.

ÉCHOS ET PROPOS

L'ECOLE DE LA TENTATION. —
C'est une femme, une jeune fille même,
la frêle, délicate et gracieuse miss Procter qui
est chargée, au jardin zoologique de Londres,
de la section... des serpents.

Et je constate que les serpents et les fem-
mes ont décidément des affinités dont la pru-
dence masculine devrait commencer sérieuse-
ment à prendre ombrage.

Chacun connaît l'entente extrêmement cor-
diale qui existait entre notre mère Eve et l'an-
cêtre des serpents, et chacun sait aussi ce qui
en est résulté.

Seulement, voilà, du temps de notre mère
Eve, il y avait un paradis à perdre.
Tandis que maintenant...
Rosine

Cutting from the Nottingham Express
Address of Publication.
Issue dated

4. 9. 23

HER REPTILIAN FAMILY.

The second of the lady curators appointed by
the Zoological Society, Miss Joan Procter, will
take over her duties in charge of the reptiles at
Regent's Park during the autumn. Miss Procter
has plenty of practical experience of these strange
pets, for, apart from work which she has fulfilled
in the reptile department of the museum at South
Kensington, she has for several years kept a private
collection of live snakes and batrachians. She has
designed the whole of the rockwork for the new
aquarium at the Zoo.

Extract from
THE ENGLISHMAN
CALCUTTA.
Date
10 AUG 1929

WOMAN CURATOR OF
REPTILES

APPOINTMENTS AT THE LONDON
ZOO

Mr. E. G. Boulenger, at present
Curator of Reptiles at the Zoological
Gardens, London, has been appointed
Director of the new Aquarium. He
will continue to exercise a general super-
vision over the reptiles, but for some
time he has been very fully occupied
with superintending the construction of
the aquarium, and when the tanks are
ready for occupation it is anticipated
that his time will be almost completely
engaged by his new duties. Mr. Boulen-
ger is a son of Dr. G. A. Boulenger,
F.R.S., for long chief of the Department
of Reptiles, Batrachians, and Fishes at
the British Museum of Natural History.
Since Mr. Boulenger has been Curator
at the Zoo the reptile-house has been
greatly improved, and the collection
made one of the finest in the world.
During the war he served in France
with the balloons.

Miss Joan B. Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S.,
has been appointed Curator of Reptiles,
and will assume her duties in late
autumn. She was educated at St. Paul's
School for Girls, and since 1916 has
worked in the Reptile Department at
the British Museum, first as voluntary
assistant to Dr. Boulenger, and, since
his retirement, in charge. She is the
author of a large number of papers on
the anatomy, classification, and habits
of reptiles and batrachians, and for
many years has kept a private collection
of living snakes and batrachians. At
present Miss Procter is still carrying on
the work of the Reptile Department at
the Museum, but is also engaged in de-
signing the rockwork for the aquarium
tanks at the Zoo.

MAKING THE ZOO'S NEW AQUARIUM. Finishing one of the two hundred tanks
which are to form the new aquarium under the Mappin Terraces at the Zoo. Some of
the tanks will hold thirty tons of water. (Daily Mirror photograph.)
OCTOBER 6, 1923