#FeejeeMermaid

[rogue-taxidermy-of-sarina-brewer]

AVAILABLE ~ VINTAGE JENNY HANIVER / SEA DEVIL ＄1200

This is real taxidermy and a pedigreed piece. If you are not already familiar with my work I encourage you to Google me. My most sought-after pieces in my early years were my Feejee Mermaids and Jenny Hanivers. Many were commissioned by proprietors of sideshows and are still being exhibited today. Others reside in prestigious collections like the Geneva Museum of Natural History in Switzerland, Océanopolis Cultural & Science Center in Brittany France, and the Zymoglyphic Museum in Portland Oregon. Well-known private collectors who own them includes founder of the Baltimore Dime Museum James Taylor and film director Guillermo del Toro. This piece is coming out of my personal collection. I hung onto this one because it was the nicest example in this style. It’s mounted inside a wood shadowbox (antiqued gold finish) measuring 17” x 13” x 1½” with an engraved brass plaque affixed to the outside of the glass.

THE HISTORY OF JENNY HANIVERS ~ Mythical half human/half fish creatures have been part of maritime lore across the globe throughout human history. Jenny Hanivers, also known as sea devils, began appearing in European literature in the mid-16th century. Early Europeans were spellbound by tales of mermaids so native Oceanic craftsman began marketing Jenny Hanivers as actual specimens of humanoids from the deep. They were fabricated by artfully cutting the body of a skate or similar cartilaginous fish into a winged human-like shape that was then dried in the desired pose. Guitarfish and shovelnose rays were popular choices. The mouth of a Jenny Haniver is the fish’s actual mouth but a Jenny Haniver’s "eyes” are actually the nostril openings of the fish. The "legs” are the unaltered claspers of male fish. No one knows how Jenny Hanivers got their name but one theory suggests it’s derived from the way cockney British sailors pronounced the French phrase “jeune d’Anvers” (youth of Antwerp). Jenny Hanivers were not only wildly popular South Seas souvenirs, they also became a staple of Victorian sideshow tents.

ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SEA DEVIL ~ This piece was created in 2003 using a small skate. It was made the same way Jenny Hanivers have historically been made, but with the addition of several modern steps to insure its preservation and eliminate the fishy smell associated with Jenny Hanivers. The skate was preserved with taxidermy chemicals prior to being trimmed and shaped and the innards were removed. No sculpting materials were used anywhere on this, what you are looking at is entirely the skate’s body, the only exception being the addition of antler tips from European roe deer to create the teeth and horns. This is the last one of these. There will never be another opportunity to acquire one so don’t miss your chance to add this to your collection.

＄49 insured S&H to the lower 48 states. No export. Email inquiries to info@Sarina-Brewer.com

[megancrowe]

Tales From the Sketchbook - "Feejee Mermaid"

[ofgraveconcern]

In 1842, American promoter and showman P. T. Barnum, introduced his first major hoax: a creature with the body of a monkey and the tail of a fish known as the "Feejee" mermaid. By the time Barnum was exhibiting the ‘mermaid’, it already had had a long life, and mythology. In one version of its origin, in 1822 an American captain named Samuel Barrett Eades rescued the crew of a Dutch merchant ship, aboard the ship was the mermaid, the Dutch had bought it from Japanese sailors, who claimed they had caught it. Eades bought the mermaid from the Dutch, and took it to England, where he set up a display in a London coffeehouse, naming it the "Remarkable Stuffed Mermaid"; where it was an instant success, the entrance fee of a one shilling happily paid. For the next 20 years the mermaid vanishes from history until it reappears again in the early 1840’s, where it is bought from Eades son by Moses Kimball, the proprietor of the Boston Museum; and friend of P.T. Barnum. Two years later in July 1842, newspapers announced the arrival in New York of Dr. J. Griffin, a member of the British Lyceum of Natural History, who had brought a mermaid which was caught in the Feejee Islands in the South Pacific, to be shown to the press. Of course the mermaid was the same one bought by Kimball, and Dr. J. Griffin, and the British Lyceum of Natural History, were both inventions of Barnum’s in order to create a spectacle for his exhibition of the mermaid. All images are based upon historical depictions of mermaids from the 16th century to Barnum’s exhibition in the 1840’s. They are for sale on the mythology section of the website. www.ofgraveconcern.com/mythololgy Follow @ofgraveconcern for a new macabre tale every Monday, and posts throughout the week of the gothic, strange and macabre. #barnumandbailey #barnum #phineastaylorbarnum #hoax #feejeemermaid #mermaidart #mermaidartwork #mermaidartist #coffeehouses #bostonmuseum #naturalhistory #naturalhistorymuseum #cryptid #cryptids #macabrehistory #mermaidhistory #interestingfacts #historylovers #circus #merman #mermaid #museum #interestingfinds #interestingarts #ofgraveconcern #ptbarnum #feejee #folklore #folkloreart #historical https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2oIbpHh9W/?igshid=1mhok3crjmy7b

[julieschulerart]

The Feejee mermaid was a common feature of sideshows. Made of paper mache, or a monkey sewn onto a fish tail. https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/50645458

[feralworks]

Just uploaded a tutorial on how I make my faux taxidermy armatures and how I Sculpey skin them to my patreon! Http://www.patreon.com/FeralWorks #sculpey #taxidermy #howto #tutorial #patreon #fauxtaxidermy #feejeemermaid https://www.instagram.com/p/BytI6tSghnu/?igshid=1fctd7udqyakh

[bazaarbaltimore]

*NEW PINS ALERT* Three new additions to our line of original enamel pins!! Only $8 each, now available in store or at bazaarbaltimore.com 😍 . #enamelpin #enamelpins #feejeemermaid #fijimermaid #mermaid #beetle #conjoinedtwins #siamesetwins #pin #pins #giftidea #forsale #bazaarbaltimore (at Bazaar) https://www.instagram.com/p/BstR-wInNdk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1dy526qr0s9m3

[chandarchandar]

This new little piece is also part of the series of mix media illustration and collage I’ve been workin with recently. It measures about 4x5 inches and features real vintage tickets. She’s still up for grabs! . . . . . #fijimermaid #mermaid #feejeemermaid #sideshow #gaff #carnival #circus #freakshow #tickets #collage #taxidermy #hoax #creepyart #weirdoart #darkart #mixmedia #mixedmediaart #artstagram #artistsoninstagram #paperart #papercollage #illustration #drawing #foundobjects #tinyart #popart #weird #oddart #oddities #unusual #graphite #vellum #freaks #curiosities #deadthings (at Mississippi River) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxvDiGnjyvT/?igshid=q24gpcb22z3a

[whitestagart]

An older painting and still one of my favorites I have ever worked on despite its flaws. Although thw original has been sold for a very long time it's one of the oldest prints I still have available in my etsy. Www.whitestag.etsy.com Feejee Mermaid live on display. If you are not familiar with the story of Fiji or Feejee mermaid. It was a popular sideshow hoax on display. Labeled as a mermaid but merely a hybrid monkey sewn to a fish. #art #lowbrowart #popsurrealism #artist #instagramart #artistoninstagram #popsurrealart #bigeyeart #etsyshop #mermaid #gothicart #horrorart #feejeemermaid #fijimermaid #acrylicpainting #painting

[rogue-taxidermy-of-sarina-brewer]

#FlashbackFriday ~ An old taxidermy sculpture of mine that I created in honor of P.T. Barnum who died on this day in 1891.

Barnum was arguably the greatest showman that ever lived. He was cofounder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus which was billed as “The Greatest Show on Earth”. His extraordinary sideshows were an international sensation and exhibited animal and human curiosities gathered from around the globe, some of which were real and some of which were fake. Among his most famous and popular exhibits was the Feejee Mermaid, a sea monster fabricated by splicing a monkey onto a fish. His tagline was "there's a sucker born every minute”. And he was right. People lined up in droves to see what they believed was a genuine zoological specimen collected in an exotic far away place. It was such a hit that he made additional mermaids to satiate the crowds and the exhibits went down in history as one of the biggest hoaxes of all time.

~

[julieschulerart]

The Fee Jee Mermaid.

[feralworks]

Be sure to meet my FeeJee Mermaid at the Midsummer Scream. Sadly, I won't be able to attend, so please tag me in your pictures!! #feejeemermaid #fijimermaid #roguetaxidermy #fauxtaxidermy #taxidermy #sfx #spfx #sculpey #sculpture #sculpt #faceoff #fx

[bazaarbaltimore]

Some of our most popular pins! Available in the shop or at bazaarbaltimore.com. Here until 5pm today! #enamelpins #feejeemermaid #babysfirsttentacle #conjoinedtwins #pins #pincollector #pincollection #enamelpin #shophampden #bazaarbaltimore (at Bazaar) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwSW7HpganL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=eyo579qe24ui

[chandarchandar]

Am I spending to much time around sideshow stuff/people/places or am I just living my best life?? Hard to say. These are things I have always been drawn to. Have you guys read “Something Wicked This Way Comes”???? That shit is fucking gold. . . . . #sideshow #carnival #fijimermaid #mermaid #fijiisland #freakshow #hoax #gaff #feejeemermaid #tickets #trashart #pencildrawing #fortuneteller #blind #thirdeye #turban #psychic #mixmedia #mixedmediaart #watercolor #acrylicpainting #artonwood #artonpaper #paperart #toomanyhashtags #ohwell #chandarchandar #artistsoninstagram (at New Orleans, Louisiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxffObVDAny/?igshid=y6vm56h9waty

[julieschulerart]

The Feejee Mermaid. 19th century sideshow attraction, primarily built and sold by Japanese fisherman. At www.etsy.com/listing/251958254 #artistsoninstagram #paintersofinstagram #feejeemermaid #sideshow #19thcentury #gaff https://www.instagram.com/p/B6wEHdsAGoL/?igshid=8txs80w6bjhp

[theoddangel]

Jen's Feejee Mermaid skeleton, 2 years healed. #feejeemermaid #oddangel #cdr (at Cirque Du Rouge Tattoo)