The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1890-08-27
ARTIFICIAL MERMA1DS.
THE "eiRLs OF THE sea- MANU-
FAcTuRED BY SKILLED HANDS.


with Cumming and Dexterity-Hew thu
People Are Deceived by showmen and
Their Aids-The Mermaid maker Talks.
"Mermaids made and repaired" Such
an advertisement was well calculated to
attract attention, and, as it confronted
me one day in a little frequented street
in large eastern city, determined to
make the acquaintance Of the maker Of
these incongruities Pulling an old FASH
Toned brass bell handle, q little old man,
crowned with square paper cap, came
to the door, and after cycling me suspi-
ciously for a moment invited mo in.
There was the "beggarly array of empty
boxes" walls containing strange animals,
curious stuffed birds which peered from
high shelves and were laced together by
cobwebs laden with dust, while many
other objects strewn about told of the
trade of the taxidermist.
THE MERMAID MAKER.
Yes said the old man, in, reply to
my questions, 81 am a mermaid maker,
and fiatter myself that have produced
some of the most artistic mermaids ever
placed upon the market. Why, sir,Yp
continued the speaker, warming up under
the recollection of his triumphs, al pro-
duced one that fooled even the doctors.
You see, mermaids have been made as
long as anything, The Chinese manu-
featured them centuries ago, and SO well
that large number of people believed
in them; and If the work is fairly done
the production is one of the best cards
show can have.
Gone day man came to nae and
knew the moment saw him that he was
Snowman. He said he had mermaids,
but that on the last trip a man had Of
fered to wager him $500 that he would
not dare to allow the mermaid to be cut
open; sohe wanted something thatwould
bear inspection and be ready for such q
contingency. told him could do it,
and received the order to go ahead
Generally in cheap work stuffed
the skins with cotton or something Of
the kind and let them go, but In this
case went to work on scientific princi-
Piles. took the skin of monkey and
separated 1t at the waist; then allowed
it to dry as a mummy would, all Of which
helped along by the application of heat
now took fish common in the China
sea, one that would not be familiar, and
treated it in similar way, and finally
joined them both. fastened scales upon
the monkey portion and carefully graded
them yup among the hairs; then intro
duced some hairs down upon the fish
portion; barnacles were fastened here
and there, and great cut was left open
up and down the abdomen, through
which any one could readily see the ribs
and the joining Of the yertebre.
''The face had been given am agonized
look, the hands were cIinched, and, all
in all, it was one of the most disagreea-
Bile sights I ever saw, even though did
produce 1t.
Eyes, it gave complete satisfaction.
When they exhibited it a cloth was
thrown over the body, and when any
question was raised the proprietor would
say that he would leave it to commit
tee of medical men, thus being confident
of obtaining some notoriety. In one case
number of provincial doctors were COM
pletely deceived, and signed paper re-
tracing certain statements which they
had made to the effect that the mermaid
was sham.
EXHIBITING THE FREAKS.
The old mermaid maker has passed
away, but examples Of his work are often
seen either in grog shops along the har-
Dor streets in shipping towns. in old tav-
ems and occasionally in museum. The
mermaid Is generally an adjunct of the
side show, or second rate circus. Such a
one recently saw. 1t was of large size
and kept in q tank of water. A spirited
painting on canvas depicted beautiful
maiden, half fish, floating upon the
waves, while the young man who stood
by shouted his story Of the 'sLady of the
Seas" unconsciously, we will assume,
giving the impression that the mermaid
was alive and frislSing about the tank.
The little Enclosure was well patron
lied, and it was curious to listen TO the
comments of those who paid the required
dime. 1t was holiday, and young men
and women were searching for some ex-
cuse to spend their earnings. When ten
or twelve victims Had gathered the pro-
prietor would wink at friend, borrow
his cane and begin lecture remarkable
for the exact repetition Of its points, in
which he explained that the mermaid
was half fish and half human, and had
been captured in some foreign sea and
brought TO America at enormous ex-
pense. at least one-half the people who
gazed at the mermaid evidently had a
suspicion that it was d fraud, while a