In 1913 “The Little Mermaid” was placed on Langelinie, Copenhagen. The sculpture was financed by the brewer Carl Jacobsen. Originally Jacobsen's plan was to place the sculpture in an artificial waterbasin surrounded by an arrangement of flowers. But after some time, Edvard Eriksen managed to talk Jacobsen into placing the mermaid in a more natural surrounding on a rock by the seaside. The figure is executed in three different sizes, of which this one is half the size of the original sculpture, thereby making it the largest of the three bronze-variations excluding the one in 4/5 size displayed in Osaka, Japan. In accordance with the artist's testament no subsequent copies were to be made in the same size as “The Little Mermaid” on Langelinie. Literature: “Den lille Havfrue” (The Little Mermaid), Det Berlingske Bogtrykkeri (printing house), 1960. Egon Eriksen, “Edvard Eriksen og Den lille Havfrue” (Edvard Eriksen and the Little Mermaid), 1998, mentioned herein, reproduced p. 25. The Little Mermaid (Danish: Den lille Havfrue) is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a merperson to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince. The tale was first published in 1837 and has been adapted to various media including musical theater and animated film.