2. The Feejee Mermaid
• In mid-July, 1842, an English gentleman
named "Dr. J. Griffin", a member of the
British Lyceum of Natural History, arrived
in New York City bearing a remarkable
curiosity — a real mermaid supposedly
caught near the Feejee Islands in the
South Pacific. The press were expecting
him, since throughout the Summer they
had been receiving letters from Southern
correspondents describing the doctor
and his mermaid. So when he checked
in to his hotel, reporters were waiting for
him, demanding to see the mermaid.
Grudgingly he obliged. What they saw
totally convinced them of the creature's
authenticity.
3. The Feejee Mermaid
• Throughout all this, the deception of the public had been three-fold.
First, although advertisements had shown the mermaid to have the
body of a young, beautiful woman, the creature itself was far less
attractive. It had the withered body of a monkey and the dried tail of a
fish.
4. The Feejee Mermaid
• Finally, the mermaid itself
was a fake, and Barnum
knew it. He had leased the
mermaid from Boston
showman Moses Kimball
(who, in turn, had bought it
from a seaman), but before
doing so Barnum had
consulted a naturalist to
inquire about the mermaid's
authenticity. The naturalist
had assured him it was quite
fake.
5. The Feejee Mermaid
• Where Did the Feejee
Mermaid Come From?
Barnum himself didn't create
the Feejee Mermaid. As
noted, he merely leased it
from Moses Kimball. In fact,
the creature had already
enjoyed quite a colorful
history before Barnum
transformed it into a
celebrity.
