P T Barnum and the Feejee Mermaid
The 19th century showman fooled the public for 20 years with his fake mermaid
P T Barnum was the greatest showman in 19th century America. His methods of making money were not always “above board” and the episode of the “Feejee Mermaid” is an example of how he could make a fortune by hoaxing the general public.
Dr Griffin arrives in town with a mermaid
The story — insofar as it concerned the American public — began in the summer of 1842 when a British naturalist called Dr J Griffin arrived in New York with what he claimed was a dead mermaid that he had obtained on the Pacific island of Fiji. This was forever after known as the “Feejee Mermaid”.
When the gentlemen of the press arrived at the hotel where Dr Griffin was staying (having been tipped off in advance) he reluctantly showed them the specimen. However, they had no pictorial proof with which to persuade their editors to splash the story.
Enter P T Barnum, who visited every paper in town and produced detailed engravings of a beautiful bare-breasted mermaid — which actually looked very unlike the specimen held by Dr Griffin. The papers printed the story, each having been convinced by Barnum that they were getting an exclusive story.