The "mermaid" displayed in "Mermaids, Mummies and Mastodons" at the Peale
Museum in Baltimore was a loan from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Genevieve Fisher
Registrar
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Harvard University
11 Divinity Avenue
Cambridge, MA  02138  USA

P: 617-495-4298
F: 617-495-7535
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

On Wed, 25 Feb 1998, Edward Rodley wrote:

> >>Unfortunately...no.  When we redesigned The Barnum Museum in the late '80s,
> >>we would have given plenty for the Fejee Mermaid; but it had been gone for
> >>more than a century.  (However, reports that it is indeed in Bridgeport may
> >>offer some clue as to how fakes, forgeries, and rumors get their "legs.")
> >
> >About 15 years ago, when touring the collections storage area of the
> >Peabody Museum at Harvard University, I saw a construct that the curator
> >said was Barnum's Fejee Mermaid. If you are trying to locate it, you might
> >want to try there.
> >
> >Susan Wageman
> >Grants and Research Manager             [log in to unmask]
> >The Tech Museum of Innovation           (408) 279-7178
> >145 West San Carlos Street              fax (408) 279-7149
> >San Jose, CA  95113  USA                http://www.thetech.org
>
> They were pretty common items in the mid 1800s.  Apparently, Japanese
> fishermen would make these beasts out of monkey and fish parts and sell
> them to Western sailors as curiosities.  The Peabody has a couple, if
> memory serves.  I also recall seeing one in Baltimore at the late, great
> Peale Museum.
>
> ___________________________________________________________
> Edward Rodley            email:           [log in to unmask]
>
> Exhibit Planner             ph:           617.589.0296
> Museum of Science,         fax:           617.742.2246
> Boston, MA
> ___________________________________________________________
>