Fish or Fowl? Stereoview photo

A little over a year ago I posted this in "the other place" -- I now have some much better scans than the blurry ones I posted then.

My main question is whether the costume is a fish or a bird. There were opinions on both sides. The date of the photo is mid-1870s or earlier.



Here is the whole stereoview card, by the Gurney studio.

 

And, here is a link to the previous discussion. The actress was named Carrie Seymour. I advise looking at this to see what has already been located.... and just for fun!

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Archiv...the-costume-in-this-1870s-photo/td-p/18031725

 

Moose dressed as chicken.

 

Thanks!

 

Entertaining picture. I think Mermaid Frolics sounds about right. The leafy appearance is probably meant for a wavering, refractive, in-the-water quality.

But there are some pretty leafy fish out there:

 

I snagged your photo, cropped it to the head, and enlarged the head area.

It is, of course, quite grainy now, but it does give a better view of it.

I vote fish of some sort, but that's just me.

 

A blast from the past! I remember this.

I voted "fish" before and I still think the same.

 

I love the photo of the "leafy" fish!

The only thing I wonder about Mermaid Frolics, having re-read that old discussion... the article that was posted was from 1877. The photo, according to what I researched at the time, would have dated to before 1875 because of the studio name. (I should check this again.) -- So the question is, did Mermaid Frolics exist earlier?

Of course, the photo may not be of Mermaid Frolics at all, but could still be a fish costume.

 

Oh, I re-read the 1877 article and it says that Mermaid Frolics was "a new act." So, this would most likely not be from that particular show.

 

The picture moreotherstuff posted is that of the leafy Sea Dragon and is related to the Sea Horse.

 

Thank you, desperate_fun!

 

I remember that fishy photo that ran afoul.

....OK,foul does rhyme with fowl.

 

They are homophones - words that are pronounced the same, but spelled differently and with different meanings. I couldn't remember the word for that, so looked it up.

 

Chicken of the Sea

 

Oohhhh !
So that's what all that Homophonia....is all about !

Strange eh ?