Authentic Fiji Mermaid Or Feddjee Mermaid...

The Fiji Mermaid is a taxidermy montage consisting of the torso and head of a young animal attached to the back of a fish, the whole partially covered in papier-mâché. It was a common display at fairground shows, supposedly representing the mummified body of a mermaid, or at least a half-mammal, half-fish creature. The first specimen is said to have come from the imagination of Phineas Taylor Barnum in the 19th century. Indeed, this hoax was concocted by Barnum himself, as he testifies to in his autobiography. He therefore put in place during the year 1842, with his partner Professor Griffin, played by Levi Lyman, a strategy which aims to disseminate their specimen to the public eye. This chimera was exhibited in the museum of natural history of a castle, it made many children shudder… The Fiji mermaid, also known as the Feejee mermaid, was a fake mermaid made by sewing an animal's head and torso to a fish's tail. PT Barnum exhibited the original in the 1840s and it was a famous attraction in his sideshow.