Feejee mermaid

The Fiji mermaid (also Feejee mermaid) was an object comprising the torso and head of a juvenile monkey sewn to the back half of a fish. It was a common feature of sideshows, where it was presented as the mummified body of a creature that was supposedly half mammal and half fish, a version of a mermaid. The original had fish scales with animal hair superimposed on its body with pendulous breasts on its chest. The mouth was wide open with its teeth bared. The right hand was against the right cheek, and the left tucked under its lower left jaw. This mermaid was supposedly caught near the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific. Several replicas and variations have also been made and exhibited under similar names and pretexts. The original object was exhibited by P.T. Barnum in Barnum's American Museum in New York in 1842 and then disappeared. It was assumed that it had been destroyed in one of Barnum's many fires that destroyed his collections.

The legend of the mermaid has persisted for thousands of years. Travelers of the sea still keep their eyes open in hopes of catching this mythical creature. Actual mermaids had been presented at shows for centuries. They were often dugongs. During the Renaissance and the Baroque eras, the remains of mermaids were a staple of cabinets of curiosities.

Fishermen in Japan and the East Indies had long constructed "hybrids" by stitching the upper bodies of apes onto the bodies of fish. They were sometimes used for religious purposes.

The American sea captain Samuel Barrett Edes bought Barnum's "mermaid" from Japanese sailors in 1822. He purchased it for $6000. Not having sufficient funds, Edes "borrowed" the capital from the ship's expense account. Via Edes, it was displayed in London in 1822. The Fiji Mermaid was advertised in a publication by J. Limbird in the Mirror.

After Captain Edes' death, his son took possession of the mermaid and sold it to Moses Kimball, of the Boston Museum,in 1842. Kimball brought the Fiji Mermaid to New York City that summer to show P. T. Barnum. Before agreeing to exhibit the Fiji Mermaid, famed showman P.T. Barnum and purveyor of curiosities had a naturalist examine it. The naturalist, noting the teeth and fins of the "creature", could not conceive how it would have been manufactured but, not believing in mermaids, would not attest to the artifact's authenticity. Despite the naturalist's doubts, Barnum believed that the relic would draw the public to the museum. Kimball would remain the creature's sole owner while Barnum leased it for $12.50 a week.

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