Mummy-mania (1824)

In 1818, Mummy-mania hit the young United States. Ward Nicholas Boylston brought a souvenir mummy back with him and by May the newspapers had circulated the news. In May 1823, Boston acquired a mummy. This one was put on tour for a 25 cent admission to raise funds for a clinic. In January 1824, another mummy arrived in America, and in 1824 one arrived in New York.

This latter mummy which essentially saturated the market with mummies, had been ransacked from Thebes. It was the first mummy to be publicly unwrapped in America, on 14 December of 1824 at Castle Garden, New York before an audience of scientists and medical men.

We, at Misky, found the report in the obscure issue of The Republican Compiler of 29 December 1824, we read about a famous mummy. In this same issue, we find that in the 18th Congress, the senator of Tennessee was Andrew Jackson, and of New York Martin Van Buren long before their days of being president.

The Mummy

The Mummy which has been exhibited in this city for some time past, has been unclothed by Doctors
Mott, Stevens and Ackerly, and several other gentlemen of the faculty who will no doubt give a very interesting statement to the public. All cavil and and scepticism {sic} is completely put at rest on the subject of the reality of the Mummy. On placing the body on the table, it appeared to be wrapped in a countless number of folds of linen, which, by age, had been
horn baa never been firmly matted together, but upon placing the knife at the head, and with difficulty cutting a straight line to the feet, the casement was easily separated from the body, which was found to be in a hard black and perfectly preserved state. All the bones,flesh, and skin, were found to be as hard as common wood : the arms, hands and fingers, were in quite a perfect state, and in a natural position by the side of the body. A large quantity of glutinous substance was found within the body, which on burning was of an agreeable odour. No doubt can remain that the Mummy exhibited was entombed three thousand years ago ; and by the pains taken in embalming it, that it was the body of a female of no inconsiderable importance.

-New York Daily Advertiser