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:
  Newspaper clippings from July 20, 1923 report Miss Joan Procter/Procter’s appointment as Curator of Reptiles at the Zoo, outlining her lifelong interest in reptiles and her keeping of snakes, a crocodile, lizards, and axolotls. Articles also note her work at the British Museum, experiments transforming axolotls, and Mr. E. G. Boulenger’s move to oversee the new aquarium at the Mappin Terraces.

CONTENT:
THE EVENING STANDARD
Friday, July 20, 1923.

JOAN & HER QUEER
PALS.

BOA CONSTRICTOR & CROCODILE
AS PLAYMATES.

YOUNG ZOO CURATOR.

TRANSFORMATION FROM WATER
TO LAND CREATURE.

Miss Joan Proctor, the young girl who has
been appointed curator of reptiles at the 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 was busily engaged to-day 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 inte-
rested in snakes, she re-
plied:

"I never did begin.
I have always been inte-
rested 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
aim coming to my new
post here in November.

Miss Joan Proctor.
"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 only 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, es-
pecially with children.

"Children," she said, "are not afraid of the
reptiles."

Transformation.

Miss Proctor's own collection of animals, it
may be added, is a considerable one. The croco-
dile 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
house 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 experi-
ments in regard to axolotls. She managed
to change the habits of one of them by scientifi-
cally reducing his allowance of water, and
transformed it from a water creature to a land
creature.

FRIDAY, The Daily Mail JULY 20, 1923.

WOMAN'S REPTILE
PETS.

SNAKES, LIZARDS, AND
A TOAD.

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.

At that age she had a crocodile as a pet,
which she cared for during its two years
of life. At present Miss Procter is carry-
ing on the work of the Reptile Depart-
ment of the British Museum, but she by
no means confines her observations to
preserved specimens.

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 has also some axolotls, and in
the past has succeeded in transforming
one of them from a water-creature to a
land salamander by scientifically reduc-
ing its allowance of water. Prof. Hux-
ley's thyroid-gland experiments pro-
duced the same results.

Some lizards and a small python are
also included in her collection, while at
the British Museum she has a fire-bellied
toad which she has owned for the past 10
years.

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 Map-
pin Terraces at the Zoo.

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.

The Westminster Gazette
104 Shoe Lane, E.C.1.

Cutting from issue dated 20 JUL 1923

WOMAN CURATOR.

Miss Proctor is to be Curator of Rep-
tiles at the Zoo in succession to Mr.
Boulenger, who becomes Curator of the
new Aquarium now in process of comple-
tion.

Miss Proctor, educated at St. Paul's
School for Girls, has worked in the Rep-
tile Department of the British Museum
since 1916, and was at one time Mr.
Boulenger's assistant,

SUMMARY:
Newspaper cuttings report that Miss Joan Proctor/Procter, aged 25, has been appointed Curator of Reptiles at the Zoological Gardens. Articles describe her background at the British Museum/Museum of Natural History, her expertise handling venomous snakes, and her work designing aquarium tanks and contributing to antivenom research.

CONTENT:
who ever lived. Praise she merits, but
Cutting from the Daily Post
July 19th
One Woman's Speciality.

Not to every woman would the curatorship
of reptiles at the Zoological Gardens
appeal, but to have received the position is
an honour decidedly. This honour has
fallen to Miss Joan Proctor, who will take
up her work in the autumn. Educated at
St. Paul's School for Girls, Miss Proctor
has been in the reptile department of the
British Museum for seven years, and may
be said to know her job backwards. Not
content with studying the habits, anatomy,
and little ways of reptiles and batrachians
in working hours, she keeps a collection of
the living creatures at home. She is at the
moment designing rockwork for the
aquarium tanks at the Zoo.

From the Soho News July 21st
CHAMPION GIRL SNAKE EXPERT.

Miss Joan Proctor, F.L.S.
Miss Proctor, aged 25, as already
described in the "Echo," is one of the
greatest snake experts in the world, and has
been appointed Curator of Reptiles at the
Zoological Gardens. She handles the most
deadly reptiles with the greatest ease.

Cutting from the Belfast Telegraph
Address of Publication
Issue dated 20. 7. 21

GREAT SNAKE EXPERT.
GIRL'S CHARGE OF REPTILES.
CAN HANDLE DEADLY SERPENTS.
Miss Joan Proctor, F.Z.S., an English
girl 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 Proctor, unknown to
the world at large, has for several years
gained fame 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 bottled and occasionally
live specimens of the most deadly snakes in
the world.

Miss Proctor is now engaged in designing
the 60 tanks to form the most wonderful
aquarium in the world, which are being con-
structed at a cost of £50,000, under the
Mappin Terraces in the Zoo. Miss Proctor
is making models of each tank to scale from
her studies of rocks and seaweeds made
during holidays at the seaside. Miss
Proctor has performed work of incalculable
value while at the Museum of Natural
History by preparing a complete series of
the teeth of poisonous snakes for the School
of Tropical Medicine. Her researches have
enabled the school to prepare antidotes for
the bites of various deadly snakes.
Miss Proctor is resigning in the autumn
from her present position as chief of the
department of reptiles at the British
Museum of Natural History at South Kens-
ington. She has already won many honours
that are only as a rule bestowed after a
life-time of research work. She read her
first paper on the pitsnake before the Zoo-
logical Society at the age of 19. She was
made a Fellow of the Society at 20. She
was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society,
one of the foremost scientific organisations
in the world, a fortnight ago. She is also
a Fellow of the Zoological Society of Bom-
bay, and last year was offered a remuner-
ative post by the Zoological Society of New
York.

Cutting from the Dundee Courier
Address of Publication
Issue dated 21. 7. 20

GIRL AS SNAKE EXPERT.
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 complete charge of dozens of venomous
cobras, deadly pythons, boa constrictors, alli-
gators, and crocodiles. Miss Procter, un-
known to the world at large, is famous
among zoologists as one of the greatest
snake experts of the day. 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 col-
lected the poisonous creatures from their
hiding places.

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 clippings announce Miss Joan B. Procter's appointment as Curator of Reptiles at the Zoological Gardens/London Zoological Gardens, noting her work at the British Museum and her private reptile collections. Articles reference Mr. E. G. Boulenger, Dr. Boulenger, Prof. Huxley, and the new aquarium under the Mappin Terraces.

CONTENT:
Miss Procter
No.
From The General Press Cutting
Association, Ltd.
ATLANTIC HOUSE,
45-50, HOLBORN VIADUCT, E.C. 1.
TELEPHONE HOLBORN 4815.
Cutting from the Illustrated London News
Address of Publication
Issue dated 28. 4. 23

Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., who is to be Curator of Reptiles at the "Zoo,"
is already known to readers of "The Illustrated London News" through her
work on the tanks for the new Aquarium, illustrations of which were given in
our issue of July 14 last. She is twenty-five.

THE ZOO'S NEW CURATOR OF
REPTILES: MISS JOAN PROCTER.

Cutting from the Times Weekly Edition
Address of Publication
Issue dated 26. 4. 23
A Woman Zoologist.

The position of Curator of Reptiles at the
Zoological Gardens would not appear, at first
sight, to be one likely to appeal to a woman,
but Miss Joan B. Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., who
has been appointed to succeed Mr. E. G.
Boulenger in that office, is a recognized autho-
rity on the subject. She has worked in the
Reptile Department at the British Museum
since 1916, 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 designing the rockwork for
the aquarium tanks at the Zoo. Mr.
Boulenger has been appointed Director of the
new aquarium which is under construction.
He has made the reptile collection at the Zoo
one of the finest in the world.

Cutting from the Camberwell & Peckham Times
Address of Publication
Issue dated 28 / 4 / 23

Miss Joan Procter, a young lady of 23
years, who is entitled to write goodness only
knows how many initials after her name, has
been appointed curator of reptiles at the Zoo.
Her charges will include cobras, pythons, boa
constrictors, alligators and crocodiles. We
don't know that we should care about the
job. But then, woman always was a charmer.
Even man, the most deadly of reptiles, suc-
cumbs to her charms.

Cutting from the Daily Mail
Address of Publication
Issue dated 28. 7. 23
GIRL SNAKE EXPERT.
TO TAKE CHARGE OF ZOO
REPTILES.

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.
At that age she had a crocodile as a pet,
which she cared for during its two years
of life. At present Miss Procter is carry-
ing on the work of the Reptile Depart-
ment of the British Museum, but she by
no means confines her observations to
preserved specimens.
Her present collection of living rep-
tiles includes a Brazilian house snake,
which is very keen on being handled and
petted. These bene-
volent serpents are
used instead of
cats in some parts
of South America,
and are most effec-
tive in keeping a
place clear of rats
and mice. Miss
Procter has also
some axolotyls, and
in the past has
succeeded in trans-
forming one of
them from a water-
creature to a land
salamander by
scientifically reduc-
ing its allowance
of water. Prof. Huxley's thyroid-gland
experiments produced the same re-
sults.
Some lizards and a small python are
also included in her collection, while at
the British Museum she has a fire-bellied
toad which she has owned for the past
10 years.
Miss Procter, who is 25, 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 con-
structed under the Mappin Terraces at
the Zoo.

SUMMARY:
Press clippings report that Miss Joan Procter, aged 25, has been appointed curator of reptiles at the London Zoological Gardens, highlighting her lifelong expertise with snakes and her prior work at South Kensington. Coverage includes details of her scientific distinctions and international recognition.

CONTENT:
The Girls' Own Free Press

MEETS CRAWLY THINGS
FROM ZOO AS FRIENDS

Woman Appointed Curator of Rep-
tiles at London

Girls who are afraid of mice, spid-
ers, beetles, newts, snakes, and such
unfamiliar things may shudder at
hearing that Miss Joan Procter has
been appointed curator of the rep-
tiles at the Zoo in London, England.
Miss Procter does not shudder at
any kind of animal, for they are her
familiars, especially snakes. She
began keeping snakes as pets when
she was ten. When she was eigh-
teen she became an assistant in the
reptiles department at South Ken-
sington.
Now, at 25, she goes to the Zoo to
be the friend of all the crawly and
cold-blooded things, as she is the
friend of the collection she keeps
in her home.

WINNIPEG, SATURDAY, AUGUST 18, 1923.
THE WINNIPEG EVENING TRIBUNE.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 1923

SNAKE EXPERT

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 Linnæan 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.

MISS JOAN PROCTOR, F.Z.S., F.L.S.
Miss Proctor has been appointed
curator of reptiles at the Zoological
Gardens. She is 25 years old and
acknowledged to be one of the great-
est authorities on snakes in the world,
and the ease with which she handles
even the most deadly specimens is
astonishing. Her last post was that
of chief of the department of reptiles
at the Natural History Museum,
South Kensington. Miss Proctor re-
cently refused an offer from the Zoo-
logical Society of New York.
Miss Proctor does not shudder at
any kind of animal, for they are her
familiars, especially snakes. She be-
gan keeping snakes as pets when she
was ten. When she was 18 she be-
came an assistant in the reptiles' de-
partment at South Kensington.
Now she goes to the Zoo to be the
friend of all the crawly and cold
blooded things, as she is the friend
of the collection she keeps in her
home.

New York Tribune.
5 AUG 1923

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

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.

SOUTH AFRICAN PAPER
FAMOUS SNAKE EXPERT

Girl Scientist Who Does
Not Advertise

Miss Joan Procter, F.Z.S., F.L.S., an
Englishwoman of 25 (who does not adver-
tise herself), has been appointed curator
of reptiles at the London Zoo. She will
have complete charge of dozens of venom-
ous cobras, deadly pythons, boa constric-
tors, alligators and crocodiles.
Miss Procter, unknown to the world at
large (for she does not advertise herself),
is famous among zoologists as one of the
greatest snake experts of the day.
Johannesburg
Sunday Times

Girl Is World Snake Expert

Miss Joan Proctor, the twenty-
three-year-old girl recently made
curator of reptiles in the London
Zoological Gardens, had her first pet
snake when ten years old and her
knowledge of crocodiles brought her
the assistance of Dr. Boulenger, head
of the department of reptiles, several
years ago. She was 15 when she be-
came his assistant and succeeded
him when he resigned. She is one of
the greatest snake experts in the
world.
AMERICAN PAPER
HARTFORD COURANT
ARIZONA, U.S.A.

SUMMARY:
Newspaper clippings report that Miss Joan Proctor was appointed curator of the reptile house at the London Zoological Gardens. The articles describe her expertise, training under Dr. Boulenger, election as F.Z.S. and F.L.S., her refusal of an offer from the New York Zoological Society, and her keeping of snakes at home.

CONTENT:
PROVIDENCE JOURNAL
AUGUST 1923

SNAKE EXPERT OF LONDON
Miss Joan Proctor, appointed curator of
reptiles in London Zoological Gardens. She
is one of the world's greatest authorities on
the subject and recently refused an offer
from the New York Zoological Society to
come to America
Kadel & Herbert photo

Extract from
NEW YORK TRIBUNE
NEW YORK.
5 AUG 1923

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

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 Linnaean 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:
International newspaper clippings from 1923 report Miss Joan Procter's appointment as Curator of Reptiles at the London Zoological Gardens, noting her expertise, early career, and work on the new aquarium. Articles also mention related appointments of E. G. Boulenger and her training under Dr. C. A. Boulenger.

CONTENT:
Telephone No. Central 7989.
International Press-Cutting Bureau
14, New Bridge Street, London, E.C. 4.

Extract from
NEW YORK WORLD
NEW YORK.
19 August. 1923.
Her Specialty Is Snakes.
MISS JOAN PROCTOR, a London
girl, has a job which few women,
and few men for that matter,
would care to hold except in the most dis-
tinct of purely honorary capacities. She
has just been elected curator of reptiles
at the famous London Zoo, after refusing
a cabled offer of a similar position at our
own Bronx Zoo at a much higher salary.
Miss Proctor is only 25 years old, but
is recognized as one of the greatest liv-
ing authorities on serpents. Her reputa-
tion indeed is already worldwide among
naturalists.

Joan Proctor.
She will not only have charge of all the
reptiles in the great collection in London,
but she will also have complete charge of
the new aquarium and its denizens. In
fact she has been responsible for the de-
signing and construction of this zoolog-
ical watering place.

Miss Proctor's grandfather was a fa-
mous entomologist, and she herself has
kept lizards and snakes as pets since her
tenth birthday. When in her very early
'teens she astonished the chief of the
reptile department of the South Kensing-
ton Museum by her knowledge of ophi-
ology and when she was only 18 she
succeeded to his post on his resignation.
At 19 she read her first paper before the
Zoological Society and later was elected
a fellow of the Linnæan Society, one of
the foremost scientific organizations in
the world.

Apparently failing to see enough of
snakes at the Zoo she keeps six Brazilian
reptiles in a glass cage in her drawing
room. They were sent to her as a gift,
for noted scientists in South America
and South Africa, knowing her interest,
frequently send deadly serpents to Eng-
land for her, and she keeps most of them
in her own home.

International Press-Cutting Bureau.
Extract from
NEW YORK HERALD.
New York, U.S.A.
Date 29 JUL 1923
LONDON NAMES WOMAN
CURATOR OF REPTILES
Miss Joan Procter One of
World's Leading Experts.

Special Cable to The New York Herald.
Copyright, 1923, by The New York Herald.
New York Herald Bureau.
London, July 28.
Miss Joan Procter, regarded by zoolo-
gists as one of the greatest snake ex-
perts in the world, has been appointed
curator of reptiles for the London Zoo.
It is the first time that a woman has
been appointed to a place of such re-
sponsibility at the Zoo. Miss Procter,
although only 25 years old, has for
some time shown conspicuous ability in
her chosen profession. Her grandfather
was a great entomologist.

Her mother, speaking of Miss Proc-
ter's work, said: "At 10 my daughter
had her first snake as a pet. She also
kept many lizards and some of them
were remarkably tame. One day she
received a large crocodile as a present,
and we took it to Dr. C. A. Boulenger,
famous chief of the department of rep-
tiles at the Natural History Museum
in South Kensington. He was aston-
ished 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 15 years old, and when he re-
signed she was appointed to his post."
Miss Procter read her first paper on
snakes before the Zoological Society at
the age of 19. She was a fellow of the
society at 20 and was elected a fellow
of the Linnaean Society, one of the fore-
most scientific organizations in the
world only a fortnight ago. Last year,
it is said, she was offered a post by
the New York Zoological Society.

Extract from
THE FRIEND
BLOEMFONTIEN.
Date Sep 1st

Miss Joan Procter, an English
girl, aged 25, has been appointed
curator of reptiles at the London
Zoological Gardens. Her grand-
father was a famous entomo-
logist. Miss Procter had her
first pet snake when she was
aged 10. One day she received a
crocodile as a present, and took
it to Dr. Boulenger, head of the
department for reptiles in the
National History Museum, South
Kensington. He was astonished
at her knowledge, and offered to
train her. She became Dr.
Boulenger's assistant when 15,
and is now one of the greatest
snake experts in the world, and
is a Fellow of the Zoological and
Linnean Societies.

Extract from
CHARLOTTETOWN GUARDIAN
Charlottetown, Canada.
Date
WOMAN CURATOR
OF ZOO REPTILES

LONDON, Aug. 15.—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 supervision 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 an-
ticipated that his time will be al-
most completely engaged by his
new duties. Mr. Boulenger has been
Curator at the Zoo, F.R.S., for long
chief of the Department of Reptiles,
Batrachians and Fishes at the Brit-
ish Museum of Natural History.
Since Mr. Boulenger has been Cur-
ator 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. Proctor, 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 Rep-
tile Department at the British Mu-
seum, first as voluntary assistant
to Dr. Boulenger and, since his re-
tirement, in charge. She is the au-
thor of a large number of papers on
the anatomy, classification, and
habits of reptiles and batrachians,
and for many years has kept a pri-
vate collection of living snakes and
batrachians. At present Miss Proc-
tor is still carrying on the work of
the Reptile Department at the Mu-
seum, but is also engaged in de-
signing the rockwork for the aqu-
arium tanks at the Zoo.

MADRAS MAIL.
MADRAS.
14 AUG 1923
THE WAY OF THE
WORLD

Miss Joan B. Proctor, F.Z.S., F.L.S., has
been appointed Curator
Woman Zoo of Reptiles at the London
Curator Zoological Gardens, and
will assume her duties in
the 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 retire-
ment, 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 Proctor 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:
Clippings report Miss Cheesman’s forthcoming 20,000-mile Pacific research voyage and her work at the London Zoo, alongside coverage of Miss Joan Proctor’s appointment as curator of reptiles. Additional articles highlight British women pioneers in various technical and scientific professions.

CONTENT:
Cutting from the Glasgow Herald
Address of Publication
Issue dated. 20/10/25

WOMEN'S TOPICS

INSECT LOVERS
Woman Curator's 20,000-Mile Voyage
Women In America are much interested in
the fact that Miss Cheesman, the woman
Curator of Insects at the London Zoo, sails
on October 23 in the yacht St. George on a
journey of more than 20,000 miles through
the South Seas and the Pacific Ocean.

She is the only woman member of a party
of eight zoologists sent out by the Scientific
Expeditionary Research Association, and will
be absent many months. Up to the time of
writing Miss Cheesman has successfully
eluded press photographers, one of whom lay
in wait for her for three hours. She will
not talk about herself, but I knew long ago
of her post at the Zoo, which she has held
for ten years, and of her lectures in the
Insect House, which are so entrancing to
young people. She hopes not only to bring
back some interesting specimens but to solve
some problems of value of entomology by
following the great circle of the Pacific trade
winds. If you look at a wind map of the
world you will note the flow of steady winds
to the north-west from Ecuador and the
corresponding return sweep to South America
across the southern portion of the Pacific.

Winged Emigrants
Miss Cheesman points out that Insects
must migrate down these great wind-paths,
blowing to leeward from one island, to the
next. Those winged emigrants who are
lucky enough to make port often find them-
selves in enormously different surroundings,
and have to adapt themselves to the new
conditions. How have they succeeded, and
what physical changes have these winged
emigrants undergone?

Miss Cheesman has a most happy genius
for handling even the most fearsome insects.
She picks up poisonous bird-eating spiders,
maintaining that they are intelligent enough
not to injure a friend. And somehow she is
right, and seldom gets bitten.

Handling Snakes Without Gloves
In this way she is like her new colleague
at the Zoo, Miss Joan Proctor, who was
recently appointed curator of reptiles, and
who will handle horrible snakes without
gloves and without a shudder. American
women find this marvellous, as, indeed, no
does the ordinary woman, but I may state
for the first time in Great Britain that Miss
Proctor resisted the attraction of a high
salary in New York in order to remain in
England.

Had I to decide between caring for snakes
or insects, I know which I would choose,
though the average woman would rather
study insects in theory than in practice.
We have in England even one or two women
"Insect artists," who specialise in
meticulous pen-and-ink drawings of the
structure of insects, mainly for bookplate
illustration in scientific works. Sometimes
these are coloured, sometimes not, but the
illustration has to be scientifically correct,
and therefore must be done by one who is
an entomologist as well as an artist.

Cutting from the Daily Herald
Address of Publication
Issue dated 25.10.22.

THE FAMILY HERALD AND WEEKLY STAR,
MONTREAL, CANADA,
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1923.

BRITISH WOMEN
AS PIONEERS.

Engineers, Plantation
Manager and Diver.

RESEARCH CRUISE.

Are British women more or less enter-
prising than their American cousins?
As reported in the "Daily Chronicle"
recently, eight American women claim
to hold positions never before occupied
by members of their sex. Now a woman
correspondent names nine English-
women prominent in industry and the
professions, some of them pioneers.

Miss F. Wakefield, an Englishwoman
chiropractor, is the first and only woman
pioneer of this new science in London.
She is trained in a scientific method of
adjusting the cause of disease without
drugs or instruments, based on a cor-
rect knowledge of anatomy, and espe-
cially the nervous system.

Another Miss Wakefield, a mycolo-
gist, is in charge of the Mycological
Department at Kew (mycology is the
study of fungi). She had a similar posi-
tion in Barbados before coming to
London.

FIRST ELECTRICIAN.
The first woman electrical engineer to
set up her own business in Exeter less
than two years ago, Miss Margaret Part-
ridge, has now taken a partner, Miss
Lees, who is in charge of the London
office of M. Partridge and Co., recently
opened.

Miss Griff, another woman engineer,
who initiated the Stainless and Non-
Corrosive Metal Co., of Birmingham,
has also taken a partner, Miss Davis,
and runs a foundry.

Miss Margaret Naylor is the only
British woman diver, and is famed
for her intrepid operations at Tober-
mory Bay, where the Spanish trea-
sure galleon lies.

The only British woman who owns
and manages a cocoa-nut plantation is
Miss Hamill Smith, Tobago, near Trini-
dad.

A research journey through the
Pacific has been undertaken by Miss
Cheesman, curator of insects at the
London Zoo. Her colleague, Miss Proc-
tor, is curator of reptiles.

An out-of-the-way occupation has
been chosen by Miss Gertrude Rosen-
berg, who breeds butterflies for sale to
schoolboys and other collectors.

Expert On Snakes

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.

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.