Origin: Coney Island area of Brooklyn, New York, USA Date: circa 1862 - present Size: 112 x 75 x 75 mm   (15 ounce capacity can) Description of the artifacts: The original factory Coney Island Fine Foods was located in the heart of the Dreamland Amusement Park in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn, New York. The owner Henry J. Feltman was a very eccentric man who worked in a variety of jobs including a circus sideshow performer at traveling Ten-in-One-shows (human block head, contortionist, sword swallower, magician, and fire breather) when he was young. He later opened a seafood restaurant, Palace of Mermaids, in Coney Island and served varieties of exotic dishes from all over the world. His financial success led him to open a new factory to package and market his popular foods in the Northeast. The company became famous and very popular by originating Coney Island style Clam chowder and Coney Island style canned clams in Coney Island in 1862. At one point, Feltman’s clam chowder was as famous as two other famous foods which originated in Coney Island; hot dog (1867) and frozen custard (1919). Unfortunately this famed company was destroyed by the Dreamland Fire of 1911.   The current factory, Coney Island Fine Foods Yamada International, Inc., is located by the Stillwell-Coney Island subway station, which is only two blocks from the original factory. This company is a part of the Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of World Wonders. To appeal to the unique American consumer culture of food and art, in recent decades, the company has been issuing a series of limited-edition unique exotic canned foods as fine art objects for collectors. Examples of them are horseshoe crab, Fiji alligator, Madagascar giant hissing cockroach, Coelacanth, Japanese fugu, water bear, hairy trout, king tarantula, black trilobite, blue poison dart frog, sea lily, Jackalope, box jelly fish, blue poison dart frog, fire salamander, walking leaf, mermaid’s toenail, Hawaiian giant snail, giant vampire bat, Imperial dodo, coconut crab, pelican gulper eel, king piranha, etc. The signed one of a kind beautifully rendered canned labels of these exotic canned foods are also marketed as fine art prints. By using fancy phrases such as “Food for the Eyes”, “Food for the Soul” “Food for the Spirit”, and “Food for the Mind”, these artworks were widely marketed. With this ingenious packaging and marketing strategy, today, the Coney Island brand exotic canned food has been sold at major novelty stores, gift shops, museums and commercial art galleries around the world. Today, these exotic canned foods as artworks are as treasured as a bottle of fine wine among discriminating collectors for their cabinets of curiosities.                 1. Horseshoe Crab, 2004                                                            2. Orange Trilobite, 2004               3. Madagascar Giant Hissing Cockroach, 2004                             4. Desert hairy Scorpion, 2004   5. Black Trilobite, 2004                                                               6. Coelacanth, 2004   7. Stag Beetle, 2004                                                                  8. Giant Starfish, 2004   9. Giant Cave Roach, 2004                                                         10. Lion Fish, 2004               11. Emperor Scorpion, 2004                                                        12. Tadpole Shrimp, 2004   13. Rainbow Sea Slug, 2004                                                       14. Sea Hare, 2004   15. King Cicada, 2004                                                                16. Sea Lily, 2004   17. Mammoth Ant, 2004                                                             18. Jewel beetle, 2004   19. Mermaid’s Purse, 2004                                                         20. Spiny Bullfrog, 2004               21. Sea Apple, 2004                                                                   22. Sea Cucumber, 2004               23. Feather Star, 2004                                                                24. 17 Year Cicada, 2004               25. Chinese Dragon Eel, 2006                                                     26. Golden Ammonite, 2004               27. Black Ammonite, 2004                                                          28. Tiger Ammonite, 2004   29. Desert Tadpole, 2004                                                            30. Seahorse, 2004               31. Hammerhead Shark, 2004                                                     32. Japanese Fugu, 2004               33. Coconut Crab, 2004                                                              34. Pelican Gulper Eel, 2004                           35. Flying Fish, 2004                                                                  36. Nautilus, 2004         37. Paper Nautilus                                                               38. Mermaid’s Toenail, 2004   39. Blue Morpho Butterfly, 2004                                                  40. Walking Leaf, 2004   41. King Tarantula, 2004                                                 42. King Piranha, 2004         43. Fire Salamander, 2004                                                    44. Orange Disc Coral, 2004   45. Rose Anemone, 2004                                                           46. Crocea Clam, 2004               47. Blue Poison Dart Frog, 2004                                                  48. Red Sea Cucumber, 2004   49. Hawaiian Giant Snail, 2004                                                    50. Box Jellyfish, 2004               51. Spring Roses, 2004                                                              52. Summer Butterflies, 2004         53. Hawksbill Turtle, 2004                                                     54. Blue Ribbon Eel, 2004               55. Ringed Sea Slug, 2004                                                         56. Sunflower Starfish, 2004               57. Mountain Jackalope, 2004                                                     58. Spiny Rattle Snake, 2004               59. Fiji Alligator, 2004                                                                 60. Blue Mud Puppy, 2004               61. Golden Sand Dollar, 2004                                                      62. Giant Vampire Bat, 2004   63. Matamata, 2006                                                                   64. Killer Whale, 2005   65. Mexican Jumping Beans, 2004                                              66. Luna Moth, 2004   67. Winter Snow Crystals, 2004                                                  68. Hermit Crab, 2004   69. Imperial Turkey, 2004                                                            70. Hairy Trout, 2005   71. Imperial Dodo, 2005                                                              72. Water Bear, 2005   73. Autumn Leaves, 2006                                                           74. Thylacine, 2006   75. Asian Longhorned Beetle, 2006                                             76. Sea Rabbit, 2006   Early Label Here is an example of an early Coney Island brand exotic canned food label (circa1862). The Big Mackerel (or Giant Mackerel) is a fishing boat-size giant fish lived coastal Northeastern America. This once very popular delicacy was extinct in the early 20th century for over harvesting.     Promotions and Exhibitions of Food Art Some of the recent Coney Island brand exotic canned foods were marketed and sold as artworks at fancy fine art galleries internationally. Here are examples of their major promotions and art exhibitions undertaken in New York City.   One of the promotional posters (winter 2006)     “Food For --- A Feast For The Eyes” was the theme of the popular annual summer fine art exhibition held at Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition Gallery in Red Hook area of Brooklyn, New York in 2006.     Coney Island brand exotic canned foods on display for sale at the opening reception (June 5, 2004) of the 7th annual Mermaid Show at Williamsburg Art & Historical Center in Brooklyn, New York.   Coney Island brand exotic canned food labels as fine art on display for sale at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition Gallery at its annual spring fine art show in Brooklyn,New York in 2004. The gallery hosts three major exhibitions annually.   Coney Island brand exotic canned food labels as framed fine art on display for sale at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition Gallery at its annual summer art show in 2006.     Coney Island brand exotic canned food labels as framed artworks (original hand-pulled digital graphic fine art print) on display for sale at the annual spring fine art auction in 2005 (left) and annual summer fine art auction in 2006 (right) at Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition Gallery in Brooklyn, New York.         Final Note/Disclaimer: This literature was produced in the time honored traditional manner of American circus sideshow and Dime Museum. Therefore, some or all of the visuals and literal information contained in this article including the opinions/statements of the author and resources many be completely fictional and figments of the imagination, and in such cases, any resemblance of them to the subject matters in real life are mere coincidental.     END     All rights reserved by Takeshi Yamada, September 2006. Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of World Wonders in Coney Island, 1405 Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11224, USA. Phone: 718.714.6434. E-mail: yamada108@aol.com Special thanks to Eriko N. Bond, Lauren D. Travis, and Diane M. Taros. Also special thanks to Mel at www.hissingcockroach.com, and Department of Ecology and Evolutionally Biology at University of Connecticut