Funny Monkeys

Susan Stanton-Reid Collection

By Margaret Mandel

The largest piece in this collection of exceptionally high quality, German-made monkeys is 20 inches tall and was made by Cramer (photo 1). His lifelike fingers and toes are noteworthy because we so rarely see these digits. The brown-tipped, extra-long mohair is luxurious and equally rare, especially on a monkey. This monkey, from the 1930s, has a felt face, red outlined felt mouth, and white mohair beard.

The next monkey (photo 2) is a scholarly, 16-inch Schuco Yes/No character from the 1920s wearing his original metal eyeglasses. It is unusual to find this model in the large (16-inch) size. The golden mohair is of the highest quality, and he has large glass eyes. The face is felt with a white mohair beard. Several felt fingertips and toes have opened to expose the typical Schuco wire frame. The Yes/No mechanism works well. He is a great example of Schuco’s early work.

A Schuco monkey from the 1950s (photo 3) wears a special original factory outfit of a green-checked cotton shirt and blue bib overalls with felt appliqués. He is 13 inches tall and a Yes/No Tricky Patent monkey, which means that his head is controlled by a mechanism connected to his tail. The monkey has a perfect felt face, feet, hands, and ears. The white mohair beard is what we have come to expect on a chimpanzee.

The sailor monkey (photo 4) is especially sweet in a 10-inch size. Like his larger cousin, he was made by Schuco during the 1950s and has the Yes/No Tricky patent mechanism. He was simply dressed at the factory as a sailor with a blue felt collar, black bow ribbon, and white sailor cap. He also has a lightly airbrushed felt face, ears, hands, and feet. The body is medium length brown mohair with a white mohair beard. He is fully jointed and a delightful companion. TB