The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-02
A FAMOUS MERMAID.
History of Fake Made by the
Chinese.
From the washington Post


From the Washington Post.
Every Washingtonian is familiar with
the Hancock Tavern, on Pennsylvania
avenue, between Twelfth and Thir-
teenth streets, northwest, which is one
of the remarkable old curiosity shops
of the city. The establishment has
been running since 1912. and during
that time three generations of Han
cocks have made a point of collecting
things rare or curious or likely to be
of interest to future generations.
Among these is one which cannot be
duplicated elsewhere, and which de-
serves to be preserved as a curio that
is a landmark in the history of frauds
and fakes. The object is nothing more
nor less than what in the past has
been variousiy known as a Japanese
mermaid" Fiji mermaid Chinese
mermaid etc.
For ages the japanese and Chinese
have been experts in the making Of
monsters and fabulous animals. Give
a Japanese the tail of a dried fish,
some monkey or pig skin, and little
wool or cotton, and he will turn out
a mermaid which, if found lying on
the beach by one unacquainted with
it's history, would be taken for the
dried remains of just such a. creature.
Several centuries ago, when European
ships first found their way into Japa-
nese waters, the Japanese heard a deal
of mermaids and mermen from the
superstitious Portugueses, Dutch and
English sailors, so much that finally
one day a shrewd workman construct
ed out of a piece of dreid fish and
part of a monkeys skin and skeleton
what looked for all the world like a
dead mermaid that had lain on the
beach for several weeks, until the skin
and body were thoroughly mumified
This of course, made a great sensa-
ton among the ignorant and supersti-
tious European sailors, who purchased
the fraud at high figure. Finding
they could sell these humbugs at as
founding prices, other Japanese and
Chinese began making fake mermaids,
which, when they sold them to the
sailors, they alleged came from the far
distant South Seas, near the Fiji Is
lands, etc.
Europe and America did not hear of
these mermaids, however, until along
about 1922. when an English sailor took
one to London, where it created an
immense sensation, and even puzzled
the men Of science of that day and
time. Finally, it remained for Bar
mum to exploit the matter which he
did some years after this mermaid
ter in his memoirs and life, he says:
"a curiosity, which in an extraordi-
nary degree served my eYer-present
object of extending the notoriety of
the American Museum (Barnum's
fourth venture il the amusement line,
located on Broadway, and about the
worst collection OF humbugs and
frauds ever gathered together under
one roof, was the So-calIed 'Feejee
Mermaid 1t has been supposed that
| this mermaid was manufactured by
my order but such is not the fact.
was known as q successful Snowman,
and strange things of every sort were
brought to me from all quarters for
sale or exhibition. In the summer of
1892 Mr.. Moses Kimball of the Bos-
ton Museum came to New York and
showed me what purported to be a
mermaid. He had bought 1t from a
sailor, whose father, a sea captain.
had purchased it in Calcutta in 1922
from some Japanese sailors. 1 may
mention here that this identical pre-
served specimen was exhibited in Lon
don in 1892. as L fully verified on my
visit to that city in 1858, for I found
an advertisement of 1t in an old file
Of the London Times, and friend gave
me a copy of the Mirror, published
by ]. Limbard, 325 Strand, Nov. 9,
1922, containing a cut Of this same
creature and two pages of letter press
describing it, together with an account
OF other mermdids said to have been
captured in different parts of the world
The Mirror stated that this specimen
was the great source of attraction in
the British metropolis, and 300 to 400
| people every day paid their shilling to
see it,
This was the curiosity which had
fallen into Mr.. kimball's hands, / re-
questcd my naturalist's opinion of the
| ccnulneness of the animal, and he said
he could not conceive how it could
have been manufactured, for he never
saw a monkey with such peculiar teeth
arms, hands, e.. and he never saw
a fish with such peculiar fins; but he
did not believe in mermaids. Never
theless 1 concluded to hire this Gu
riosity and to modify the general in
credulity as to the possibility of the
| existence of mermaids (Which was evil
IDENTIFY not a very hard task in those
| days). and to awaken a curiosity to see
and examine the specimen L invoked
the potent power of printers ink.
"Since Japan has been opened to the
outer world ii has been discovered that
certain artists in that country man
ufacture a great variety of fabulous
animals with an ingenuity and mechan-
! ical perfection well calculated to de-
celve. No doubt my mermaid was a
specirnen of this curious manufacture.
/ used 1T mainly to advertise the reg
Mar business of the museum, and this
effective. indirect advertising is the
on1v feature l can commend in a spec
ial show of which, / confess, l am not
] proud. Newspapers throughput the