The Making of a Python (Exhibition)

Exist Dates

1974 March 1 - 1974 March 31

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract

Exhibition. Opened March 1, 1974 and closed March 31, 1974. Located on Floor 2, Section 12 on the second floor in the rotunda of the New York State Roosevelt Memorial at the American Museum of Natural History. The Making of a Python, an "Exhibit of the Month", explained the process of casting a plaster mold from a live Burmese python for the Museum's Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians, which was being updated at the time and reopened in 1977. The mold was made in collaboration with the New York Zoological Society (Bronx Zoo) (1).

Summary

The Making of a Python, an "Exhibit of the Month", explained the process of casting a plaster mold from a live Burmese python for the Museum's Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians, which was being updated at the time and reopened in 1977. The mold was made in collaboration with the New York Zoological Society (Bronx Zoo) (1).

Animal replicas were usually made by treating and mounting the skins of dead animals, and the effort by the American Museum of Natural History-Bronx Zoo team was believed to be the first instance of a live animal molding. The snake itself, imported from Southeast Asia, was nine feet long and weighed 35 pounds. The team included Dr. Charles J. Cole from Herpetology and David J. Schwendeman and Seymour M. Couzyn from the Museum's Exhibition Department. For the python's safety, the Museum first ran tests to determine that it would not be harmed by the heat created as the plaster dried and hardened. During the process the animal was anesthetized with halothane. While asleep, the snake was settled into a coiled position, typical when a female incubates her eggs. The process lasted 17 minutes and was performed at the Bronx Zoo hospital, after which the mold came to the Museum, where it was painted scale by scale to match the living model. Frederica Leser painted the plaster model, though documentation does not state whether she was the sole artist or part of a team (1; 2, p. 16-17; 3).

The exhibition itself featured the live python in a glass case and together with captioned photographs which explained the molding process. After the exhibition closed, the python was transferred to a habitat at the Bronx Zoo, and the plaster model was installed in the updated Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians at the American Museum of Natural History (4).

This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.

Sources

(1) American Museum of Natural History. Press Release. “First Model Made from Live Python, Plus Snake Itself, to Appear in Museum Exhibit”. February 21, 1974.

(2) American Museum of Natural History. Annual Reports. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1973-1974.

(3) "Snake Molding". Science Digest, July 1974.

(4) "Going Out Guide". New York Times, March 21, 1974.

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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

American Museum of Natural History. Department of Exhibition.
Related Department; Exhibition preparators took mold from live snake and worked on the plaster model (2, p. 16-17; 3).

American Museum of Natural History. Department of Herpetology.
Related Department Charles J. Cole, Curator in Herpetology was part of a team that anesthetized and took mold from the live snake. The model was placed in the Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians (2, p. 16-17).

American Museum of Natural History. Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians.
Model was installed in hall after temporary exhibition (1).

Cole, Charles J.
Curator in Herpetology and was part of a team that anesthetized and took mold from the live snake. (2, p. 16-17).

Couzyn, Seymour
Part of the team that created the mold from live python; Museum's Department of Exhibition (2, p. 16-17).

Leser, Frederica
Painted plaster replica of the python; Museum's Department of Exhibition (3).

New York State Roosevelt Memorial
Location of e xhibition1974 March 1 -1974 March 31 (second floor in the rotunda0 (4).

New York Zoological Society
(Bronx Zoo). Collaborated with Museum on making the plaster mold (1).

Schwendeman, David
Part of the team that created the mold from live python; Museum's Department of Exhibition (2, p. 16-17).

Related Resources

American Museum of Natural History. Annual Report. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1973-1974: 16-17.

American Museum of Natural History annual reports, 1902-2001.
"Department of Herpetology Annual Report for the Fiscal Year 1973-1974." [1974].

American Museum of Natural History photographic drawers
Repository: AMNH Special Collections [Black and white contact sheets of exhibition on view]

American Museum of Natural History press releases, 1933-1990s.
"Calendar of Events, March 1974." February 5, 1974.; “First Model Made from Live Python, Plus Snake Itself, to Appear in Museum Exhibit”. February 21, 1974.

American Museum of Natural History Special Collections vertical files
Repository: AMNH Special Collections [News articles, copies of pages in 1973-1974 Museum Annual Report]

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