BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I’ve been getting curious about the history of reptile keeping. I’ve tried to find stuff on Google about it, but it seems overall pretty poorly documented. Anybody know anything about it? Cause it seems like all anyone really talks about is the way our care has improved since then; but not anything about the people who were really big in the hobby back then. Obviously EVERYBODY knows Steve Irwin, but other than him there doesn’t really seem to be anybody that’s still talked about. Why?

There is very little published about the subject. There's plenty of gossip online, not necessarily accurate.
I can suggest a couple of titles that you may enjoy.
A Field Guide to the Life and Times of Roger Conant- follows the authors life and career. Many, many, herpetologists and zoo keepers are discussed.
The Dragon Traders by Michael Burger- this might be closer to what you are looking for. It follows herp keeping from early zoos and roadside snake farms, and mentions some of the early breeders. It's not quite the exhaustive list of the who's who of breeding and selling that you would perhaps like, but it's the closest thing that I'm aware of.

Herpin Man wrote:There is very little published about the subject. There's plenty of gossip online, not necessarily accurate.
I can suggest a couple of titles that you may enjoy.
A Field Guide to the Life and Times of Roger Conant- follows the authors life and career. Many, many, herpetologists and zoo keepers are discussed.
The Dragon Traders by Michael Burger- this might be closer to what you are looking for. It follows herp keeping from early zoos and roadside snake farms, and mentions some of the early breeders. It's not quite the exhaustive list of the who's who of breeding and selling that you would perhaps like, but it's the closest thing that I'm aware of.

Thank you! I’ll definitely look into getting those!