That's right, there are 3 monkeys I always am looking for, wanting, yearning for... Their names are Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil. I love them. I don't know why, I just do.
I have a little collection. Here is a sampling:
I bought my very first trio when I was still a teenager. I think it was a school field trip somewhere, I'm not sure where. The little pewter trio, see?
They resided on the top ledge of my bulletin board for my high school years, and I lost track of them after that. Years later, I was over at my sister's house (she is five years younger than I am) and somehow she produced these pocket monkeys and returned them to me. I was ecstatic! I'd forgotten about them but was so happy to have them back anyway.
I think my maternal grandmother, Hazel, had a set or two of these little monkeys. I love my grandma and miss her very much. I think the monkeys help me remember and feel her presence a little. Grandma Hazel had 13 children and then her husband left her for another woman. By the time I knew her, she was a solitary soul who never had a driver's license and whose life was made up of sitting at the town tavern (in her fuzzy bedroom slippers) alternating with sitting at home playing solitaire, stitching on plastic canvas, crocheting, reading romance novels, or knitting.
She smoke Pall Mall (sp?) cigarettes and drank Pabst beer (salted) or instant coffee. I spent some time with her as a child, but wish I had spent more. One time when I was 18 years old I made the 50 mile drive to her town just to visit, and then gave her a ride to a neighboring town so she could put a new vacuum cleaner on lay-away at one of those sewing machine vacuum cleaner shops. That was the last time I saw her before she passed away. I wish I had gone to see her more often once I had my driver's license. I wish I had asked more questions and really learned more of her story.
But, I am digressing. I love her and the monkeys remind me of her. Many things remind me of her, but the monkeys became a "thing".
My mom does a bit of antiquing and has probably built the bulk of my little collection. She has the eye, THE EYE, for finding things. This was her latest donation to the collection.
These little guys are stamped "Japan" and ,according to my mother, that makes them some kind of rare because items made in Japan were not available for a long time because of the war. My favorite set are these little art deco beauties. I think they are art deco. I am not certain, but I do believe that is the style.
They are a little hidden, but I am trying to let one photo provide all the crops for this post. I love the simple lines. There are so few details, but you still know exactly what they are. Just to hold them in my hand is something special. I believe these are stamped "Japan" as well.
The bottle of Pinot Evil is a gift from my sock knitting friend, Amy, and I have not drank the wine but I will cherish this bottle forever. She said when she saw that bottle at Trader Joe's, it was going in her cart because she just knew I had to have it. She was right!
There are larger sets in my collection, but I love the little ones the best. I am a touchy, uptight, snarky kind of woman, but there is something in the idea of Speak no, See no, Hear no evil that I find admirable and worth working toward as a person. Wouldn't it be wonderful to really speak no evil, see no evil, and hear no evil? I think so. Even if it is an unattainable dream.
I have one set of the monkeys my mom found when very young. She gave them to me years ago. I made pics of them with the web cam. I would like to sell if interested. They were found about 80 years ago.
Posted by: Janie Clifton | May 10, 2010 at 02:03 AM