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:
Clippings announce E. G. Boulenger’s promotion to Director of the new aquarium and Joan B. Procter’s appointment as Curator of Reptiles, outlining her background and expertise. Additional coverage describes progress and features planned for the new aquarium.

CONTENT:
THE TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1923.

Mr. E. G. Boulenger has been appointed
Director of the new Aquarium at the Zoo,
and Miss Joan B. Procter has been appointed
Curator of Reptiles. (p. 9)

WOMAN CURATOR OF
REPTILES.

APPOINTMENTS AT THE
ZOO.

Mr. E. G. Boulenger, at present Curator of
Reptiles at the Zoological Gardens, 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 superintend-
ing the construction of the aquarium, and
when the tanks are ready for occupation it is
anticipated that his time will be almost com-
pletely engaged by his new duties. Mr.
Boulenger 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 Depart-
ment 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 batra-
chians. At present Miss Procter is still carry-
ing on the work of the Reptile Department
at the Museum, but is also engaged in design-
ing the rockwork for the aquarium tanks at
the Zoo.

Cutting from the Hull Daily Mail
Address of Publication.
Issue dated. 20.7.25

Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., an Englishwoman
of 25, has been appointed curator
of reptiles at the Zoo. She will have com-
plete 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 EVENING STANDARD.

ZOO AQUARIUM
PROGRESS.

NEW CURATOR ON WONDERS OF
COMING ATTRACTIONS.

£50,000 COST.

HOW LONDONERS WILL SEE
SEALS UNDER WATER.

Mr. E. G. Boulenger, the curator of rep-
tiles at the Zoological Gardens, who has
been appointed director of the new aquarium
which is expected to be completed at the
end of the year, gave some interesting de-
tails in an interview to-day of the progress
of the work.

Mr. Boulenger is a son of Dr. G. A.
Boulenger, F.R.S., formerly chief of the de-
partment of reptiles and fishes at the British
Museum of Natural History, South Kensing-
ton.

One of the Finest in the World.

"We began building the aquarium," he said,
"at the beginning of December. When it is
finished—we hope before the end of the year—
the aquarium should be one of the finest in
the world. It is being built under Mappin Ter-
races, and the tanks have been supervised by
myself and Miss Joan Procter, who has just
been appointed Curator of Reptiles, and is
taking over my duties in the autumn.

"The aquarium will be for fresh water and
marine animals, and the tanks will be faced
with plate glass 1¼ inches thick. This glass is
very expensive, and is a big item in the total
cost of £50,000.

"We are getting our sea-water from the Bay
of Biscay, and it will be brought in the ballast
tanks of large vessels to the docks and trans-
ferred there to barges, which will bring it up
along the Regent's Canal to the Zoo. It will be
piped from the barges into the tanks by means
of long fire hoses.

"Mr. Compton Mackenzie has given us a
quantity of shell sand from the Island of Herm
which he owns for some of the tank floors. This
shell sand is remarkable, for every grain is a
tiny shell.

Open Trout Pool.

"We will have an elaborate system of reser-
voirs, filtering arrangements, and plant for
heating, lighting, and ventilating, and the
aquarium, which will be 400ft. long, will be
divided into three parts.

"The fresh-water hall will have 25 tanks, the
marine hall 20, and the tropical hall 40. We
will have an open trout pool, a big octagonal
tank for marine turtle, and a tank for seals
under water.

"We will have a wonderful collection of
tropical fish brilliantly coloured and equal to the
finest in the world.

"Not even the New York Aquarium will sur-
pass it in the beauty of its contents."

The new aquarium, when it is completed, will
probably prove one of the biggest attractions at
Regent's Park.

Miss Procter, the new Curator of Reptiles,
was educated at St. Paul's School for Girls,
and since 1916 has worked in the Reptile De-
partment at the British Museum, first as volun-
tary assistant to Dr. Boulenger.

SUMMARY:
Press cuttings report Miss Joan B. Procter’s appointment as Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoo, outlining her background at the British Museum and work on the new aquarium. Another clipping notes related staff changes, including Miss Cheeseman’s temporary replacement during a South Pacific expedition.

CONTENT:
For
DURRANT'S PRESS CUTTINGS
St. Andrew's House, 32 to 34 Holborn Viaduct
and 3 St. Andrew Street Holborn Circus, E.C. 1
TELEPHONE: CITY 4963.

Pall Mall Gazette and Globe
25 Tudor Street, E.C.4.

Cutting from issue dated. 19 JUL 1929

CURATOR OF REPTILES.

WOMAN'S APPOINTMENT AT
THE ZOO.

Miss Joan B. Procter, F.Z.S.,
F.L.S., has been appointed Curator
of Reptiles at the Zoo, and will as-
sume 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 re-
tirement, in charge.
She is the author of a large num-
ber of papers on the anatomy, classi-
fication, and habits of reptiles and
batrachians, and for many years
(says the "Times") has kept a
private collection of living snakes and
batrachians.
At present Miss Procter is still car-
rying on the work of the Reptile De-
partment at the Museum, but is also
engaged in designing the rockwork
for the aquarium tanks at the Zoo.

25 AUG 1923

An English girl of twenty-five has been
appointed curator of reptiles at the London
Zoo. When one considers how badly
woman managed the first serpent in history,
the appointment seems a little surprising.
Cutting from the People
Address of Publication
Issue dated. 22. 7. 23

WOMAN'S SNAKE PETS.

HANDLED REPTILES FROM
CHILDHOOD.

A woman has been appointed curator
of reptiles at the Zoo and will, from
November next, be responsible for
those creeping and crawling things that
are so fascinating and attractive—be-
hind the thick glass. She is Miss Joan
B. Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., and is recog-
nised among scientists as one of the
foremost authorities on snakes.
As curator she will have in her care
deadly cobras, pythons and boa con-
strictors, alligators and crocodiles.
Miss Procter is taking the place of
Mr. F. G. Boulenger, who becomes the
director of the new aquarium.
Seen at the Zoo, Miss Procter was
too busy, she said, and seemed too
retiring and diffident to discuss off-
hand her special interests. She was
consulting over the rockwork of the
new aquarium now being built under
the Mappin Terraces at the Zoo.
Her grandfather was a noted au-
thority on insects, so that her own in-
terest in reptiles is probably heredi-
tary.
At her home in South Kensington she
has quite an extensive collection of
living creatures. At ten years of age
she had a pet snake, and has had
presents of six Brazilian snakes and a
crocodile.
When only nineteen she read a paper
before the Zoological Society, and was
made a Fellow the next year.
Cutting from the Yorkshire Post
Address of Publication Leeds
Issue dated. 3-9-25

Zoo's Lady Curators.

In view of her appointment on the per-
sonnel of the Scientific Expeditionary Re-
search Association's coming expedition to
the South Pacific, Miss Cheeseman, who
in 1917 became curator of insects in the
London Zoo under Professor Maxwell
Lefroy, will be temporarily withdrawn from
that position, and replaced by Mr. L. C.
Bushby, of the Royal College of Science.
Miss Cheeseman enjoys the distinction of
having been the first lady curator
appointed by the Zoological Society, and
during her tenure of the post she has
created almost a revolution in the beauti-
ful insect house presented some years ago
by the late Sir William Caird. The build-
ing took the place of a much older one
which for many years had been specially
associated with insect life, and which stood
close to the south entrance to the Gardens.
The Society has also quite recently
appointed a lady curator of reptiles, in the
person of Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S.,
F.L.S., who for several years has worked
in the reptile department of the British
Museum as voluntary assistant to Dr.
Boulenger, and latterly in full charge.
She is expected to take over her new duties
in the course of the coming autumn.

SUMMARY:
Mixed Italian and English newspaper clippings report Miss Joan Procter’s appointment as Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoo, succeeding Mr. E. G. Boulenger, with notes on her lifelong interest in reptiles and Boulenger’s work on the new aquarium under the Mappin Terraces. Items include pieces from various UK papers and Corriere della Sera.

CONTENT:
Corriere della Sera, 22 Luglio 1923

La governatrice dei serpenti
al giardino zoologico di Londra

Londra, 21 luglio, matt.
Miss Jane Procter è stata messa a capo del
dipartimento dei rettili al giardino zoologico
di Londra, ciò che significa che ella dovrà
governare una orribile folla di cobra, di vi-
pere, serpenti a sonagli, di boa, di coccodril-
li, ecc. ecc. La nomina interessa il pubblico
non solo perchè gli viene rivelato che miss
Procter, benchè non abbia che 25 anni, è re-
putata nel mondo scientifico come una delle
maggiori competenze in fatto di rettili, ma
anche perché, dopo il peccato originale, si
sperava o si credeva vi fosse una incompatibilità
fra la donna e i serpenti. Invece a dieci
anni, quando le ragazzine di solito si diver-
tono con le bambole, miss Procter aveva un
serpente e varie lucertole come trastullo fa-
vorito. Un giorno le fu regalato un cocco-
drillo: accompagnata dalla mamma essa lo
portò dal dott. Boulenger, allora capo del di-
partimento dei rettili al museo di storia na-
turale al giardino zoologico. Il dottore fu col-
pito dalla competenza della giovanetta in fat-
to di rettili e le promise di prenderla seco ap-
pena avesse finito le scuole. Così fu: a 18
anni miss Procter era sua assistente.

Ora il dott. Boulenger deve dedicare tutta
la sua attività alla direzione del nuovo ma-
gnifico acquario che si sta costruendo nel
giardino zoologico, e i rettili sono stati messi
sotto il governo di miss Procter, la quale
maneggia senza timore e con meravigliosa
sicurezza gli esemplari più velenosi e mali-
gni. Arrivano al museo serpenti da ogni par-
te del mondo, e qualche volta avviene che al
momento di aprire le ceste le bestie scappino
o si nascondano dove possono. Miss Procter
è famosa per snidarli e rimetterli in gatta-
buia.

Ma pare che questa sia una qualità di fa-
miglia. Neppur sua madre ha ribrezzo per i
serpenti: ad un giornalista che andò a casa
sua ha fatto vedere sei bellissime serpi bra-
siliane che sono tenute nel salotto in un co-
fano di vetro. La signora ha sollevato il co-
perchio e si è fatta attorcigliare i serpenti
intorno alle braccia mentre il giornalista cer-
cava con la coda dell'occhio una possibile
via di ritirata.

WOMAN'S REPTILE PETS.
Miss Joan B. Procter, F.Z.S., who has
been appointed Curator of Reptiles to the
London Zoological Gardens, has been in-
terested in such creatures since she was
seven years old.
Her present collection of living reptiles
includes a Brazilian house snake, which
is very keen on being handled and petted.
These benevolent serpents are used in-
stead of cats in some parts of South
America, and are most effective in keep-
ing a place clear of rats and mice.
Miss Procter is succeeding Mr. E. G.
Boulenger, F.Z.S., at the Zoo's Reptile
House in the autumn. Mr. Boulenger is
in charge of the £50,000 aquarium which is
now being constructed under the Mappin
Terraces at the Zoo.

From the Paris Daily mail.
Saturday July 21st

Cutting from the Blackpool Gazette
Address of Publication
Issue dated.
21.7.20

Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., an
English girl of twenty-five, has been ap-
pointed curator of reptiles at the London
Zoo. She will have complete charge of
dozens of venomous cobras, deadly pythons,
boa constrictors, alligators, and crocodiles.

from the Staffordshire Weekly Post
of Publication
21 7 29

WOMAN CURATOR OF REPTILES.
Mr. E. G. Boulenger, at present Curator of
Reptiles at the Zoological Gardens, has been
appointed Director of the new Aquarium. He
will continue to exercise a general super-
vision over the reptiles. Mr. Boulenger 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.
Miss Joan 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.

Cutting from the Evening Express
Address of Publication
Issue dated.
21.7.27

Woman Curator of Reptiles.
Miss Joan B. Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., has
been appointed Curator of Reptiles at the
London Zoo, to succeed Mr. E. G. Bou-
lenger, who becomes director of the new
Aquarium. Since 1916 she 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 collec-
tion 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 designing
the rockwork for the Aquarium tanks at the
Zoo.

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