Rattlesnake Milking Demonstration at Ross Allen's Reptile Institute, Silver Springs, Florida, 1960s

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!"
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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: