Hicks soon became a legend in the New York underworld, with the help of showman P. T. Barnum. Barnum had met Hicks in prison and made a deal that would allow Barnum to take a death mask while he was still alive, in return Barnum would give Hicks a new set of clothes, the electric-blue suit he wore for the execution. Barnum used the casting to create a full-size wax statue of Hicks wearing the same clothes as when he committed the murders. The wax likeness was displayed for ten years and seen by millions of visitors, before it melted in a museum fire.