"Real mermaid" notice with handwritten note of someone who visited the showing

Real mermaid

This was a news notice that I had found within the collections. This particularly stood out to me because someone had written on it in the top right corner. To me this made the piece much more personal and unique. I loved the look of the handwriting and how there was a slight bleed in the ink, giving it a more historical feel. The notice declares that a “mermaid” was caught alive on the coast of the Shetland Islands. However, the writer of the notice conveniently didn’t include an image of the mermaid to prove his claims. I think that was intentional to entice more people to pay and see the exhibition.

Mr Darlington’s note (in the top right corner) was very hard to decipher. I couldn’t figure out if he was amazed by the exhibition or if he was disappointed. To me, the description of the mermaid sounds a lot like a large fish with hair, I can’t say I was surprised, but I’m sure that this must of been news to spread around town. I think everyone would have their own opinions about whether it was true or not, even today.