Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: snakes

The skin of a large eastern diamondback rattlesnake hangs from the side of a barn in this detail from a real photo postcard .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a barn, farmhouse, or any variety of agricultural building . This is a real photo postcard of a bank barn with a gambrel roof and roof-ridge ventilators . Next to the barn is a sturdy stone silo . There's no name, address, postmark, or stamp box on the other side to indicate where or when the photo was taken. There is, however, a handwritten note that says, "Skin of a diamond rattler from Florida." I had to take a closer look to spot it, but that's apparently the skin of a large eastern diamondback rattlesnake hanging on the gable-end side of the barn.

"At last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Prov. 23-32." The verses that proceed this one in the Book of Proverbs place this quoted Bible verse in context and make it clear that this colorful Victorian-era card was intended as a temperance message: "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." (Proverbs 23:29-32.) At the same time, the handwritten notation on the back of the card (see below) reveals that it also served as an attendance reward for a student who only missed a few days of instruction during the 1893-1894 school year. Handwritten on the back of this card: Katie Whitmyer, Mar. 22, 1894. School Opened - 120 Days Attended - 115½ Days Missed - 4½ L. S. Sahm, teacher

A linen postcard with a close-up of a rattlesnake being "milked," which supplies venom for use in making antivenom . For another view of the procedure, take a look at a slide of a rattlesnake milking demonstration that also took place at Ross Allen's Reptile Institute in Silver Springs, Florida:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of your most popular vintage photo (post one of your most viewed or liked vintage photos that you haven't previously added to the Vintage Photos Theme Park) . With 2,884 visits, this is currently my most viewed vintage photo on Ipernity, I'm not sure why a photo of snakes turned out to be so popular. For other photos with lots of views, see my album of Most Viewed Vintage Photos, Dec. 22, 2019 . I was surprised to hear from "MJFTampa" about this photo a couple of years ago (see comments section below). He said, "This is an incredible find for me: This is my father, he worked for Ross Allen from 1962-1965; he was also on a billboard in Panama City Beach promoting Ross' reptile show during the summer season. Amazing what we can find on the internet!" ________ Signs on the wall: "Kinds of poisonous snakes milked at Ross Allen's: 47. Date: 12-31-59. Number of snake-bites, institute personnel: 47. Number of fatalities, institute personnel: 0. Snake-proof boots manufactured by Gokey Co., St. Paul, Minn. Coral. Scarlet king. Gokey snake-proof boots." This is a Kodachrome slide dated January 1964 that shows a man "milking" a rattlesnake at Ross Allen's Reptile Institute in Silver Springs, Florida, in order to obtain venom, which would then be used to produce antivenom . Several other snakes are lying on the floor near the man, who's evidently wearing a pair of the "Gokey snake-proof boots" that are advertised on the wall behind him. According to Wikipedia, Ross Allen (1908-1981) was "an American herpetologist and writer who was based in Silver Springs, Florida for 46 years, where he established the Reptile Institute. He used it for research and education about alligators, crocodiles and snakes, also sponsoring and conducting collection expeditions." See also a linen postcard that shows a scary close-up of the rattlesnake milking :

"The giant cracker is a big red brute, with a tail that's like a snake. You can easily tell when they're about, by the awful noise they make." An anthropomorphic firecracker strikes fear into the hearts of the local populace.

Dressed up for "Halloween" in the Vintage Photos Theme Park . I found this photo at an antique co-op in western Pennsylvania a couple of years ago. I was able to determine the month and year--October 1916--from the Mellon National Bank calendar that's hanging on the wall.

Although I have not been able to uncover any information regarding an "Ellen Probst," this postcard may have been used as a pitch card for a child performer in a sideshow or similar attraction. If so, the girl seems disconcertingly young to be working as a snake handler or charmer.