Smih, Hobart M., 1952 - 1956

James Oliver's Bronx Zoo materials include correspondence, subject files, and a set of data sheets on global snake species. The correspondence (which is fullest for the periods 1951-1953 and 1957-1959) is arranged alphabetically, and includes many of the same prominent zoo and museum curators and academic researchers represented in the first series, as well as several others who came into their own slightly later in the century. The correspondence sub-series also includes memos and letters documenting Oliver's interactions with his fellow New York Zoological Society [NYZS] staff, such as Curator of Publications William Bridges and Curator of Education Herbert Knobloch. The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists [ASIH] figures prominently into the correspondence, as do longevity records for turtles and the improvement and maintenance of the Bronx Zoo's animal collections. Other notable correspondents and topics include University of Florida professor Archie F. Carr, Jr. and NYZS trustee John H. 'Ben' Phipps discussing with Oliver the threats to sea turtles and the idea for what would become the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, zoo men David Fleay and Paul Breese coordinating with Oliver on the logistics for the import of two platypuses from Australia to the Bronx Zoo via Hawaii, and Oliver's ongoing correspondence with Lawrence Klauber, William Leumer, and William Stickel regarding venomous snakes.

The 'Subjects' subseries includes Oliver's files on various topics related to his professional service and to herpetology at the Bronx Zoo. Materials include notes, correspondence, logbooks and other research data, photographs, maps, etc. Along with extensive files on snakes—and in particular venomous snakes—and turtles, there are also files pertaining to ASIH and its journal, Copeia; collecting trips to Mianus Gorge, CT, Trinidad, and the Florida Everglades; and field observations of reptiles and amphibians. The Trinidad materials are of particular interest for their documentation of Oliver's collaboration with NYZS's Department of Tropical Research under the direction of William Beebe.

Finally, the third subseries consists of a set of snake species datasheets. Data listed includes the species' scientific and common names; distribution; scalation, dentition, and coloration; typical number of eggs or young, diet, and longevity; and expected length/rate of growth. For some species, some of this data comes from observations of snakes in the Bronx Zoo collections. Note, however, that most of the data is incomplete for most species. The data sheets are arranged roughly by continental distribution, and alphabetically by scientific name within those continental groupings. However, pre-existing anomalies and mistakes were retained. For example, West Indies / Caribbean snakes are included in the 'South America' files, and Central American snakes (with ranges from Mexico through Ecuador) are included in both the 'North America' files and in the 'South America' files. Similarly, there is some overlap between the Asian snake files and the Australian snake files for snakes of Southeast Asia and the islands of the South Pacific. Finally, Casarea dussumieri remains filed under South America, even though its range is given as 'Round Island off of Mauritius'.