Too much monkey business

My latest eBay purchases have arrived, and I'm so excited that I had to share them with you.

After seeing Nick's Zoo Line find and then learning about Robin and Blake's collection, I knew I had to find a wooden monkey for myself...but I never expected two for the price of one. That's exactly what happened though. I was scouring the listings and saw a pair of primates priced low and described as being in very good condition, but wait...the listing also had the Best Offer feature, so I submitted an offer for $15 less, and it was accepted almost immediately. (I also placed a bid on a lot of four that started at $19.50...two large and two small...but three of the four had flaws, so when the bidding got too high, I dropped out.)

Here are the two monkeys who recently joined my household. I gave them a little teak oil pick-me-up, and now they're all settled in my laundry room/walk-in closet. (That's the only room of my house that I didn't show in the reveal of my new "modernist nest," because it wasn't quite decorated/organized to my satisfaction. It's finally done, and photos will follow tomorrow.)

Zoo Line, do you think? Any information would be appreciated.

These two have made themselves right at home on my chest in my closet/laundry room.

I like to think they've been together for quite a long time.

I love the color and the facial expression of this little guy.

And I love the indefatigable spirit of this pigeon-toed fellow,
 who keeps going, in spite of losing his tail.

Google Reader shuts down on July 1, 2013.

Zoo Line...and some blog suggestions for you

Yesterday Nick from Mid-Century Midwest posted a photo of one of his latest finds...a fantastic wooden monkey...and asked if his readers thought it might be a Zoo Line piece. In my comment, I admitted that I love wooden animal figures but know very little about them.

Nick's monkey, which inspired me to search for information
midcenturymidwest.blogspot.com

For those of you who read this blog regularly, you know that not knowing drives me crazy! I'm just a tad addicted to research, so off I went to Google to learn more. I was immediately drawn to an August 15, 2012 blog post by Robin at Red Line Vintage about her addiction to Zoo Line animals. From her post, I learned that the highly collectible carved wood animals with rubber band-strung movable joints were made in the late 1950s and sold as souvenirs at zoos across the country.

Imagine my surprise as I read further and found that she had linked back to my post about Kay Bojesen, who she said was rumored to be the mastermind behind the Zoo Line animals. Then I found another one of her posts...in which she not only shared some Zoo Line catalogs which disprove the Bojesen rumors but also talked about being featured by Beatriz of Mid Mod Mom (another blog I follow) as part of her ongoing series about the things that vintage sellers keep for themselves. What a wonderful interconnected world we've become!

The upshot of all this is that one of Robin's photos showed two monkeys that look for all the world like Nick's, so if I had to guess, I'd say he scored a Zoo Line piece. What do you think?

Just a few of Robin and husband Blake's Zoo Line animals
redlinevintage.com

I hope you have time to check out the Red Line Vintage site. They have so many beautiful items for sale, and  they're so cleverly categorized under their "Shop by Collection" tab that I guarantee it will be worth a visit. 

If you aren't a follower of Mid-Century Midwest or Mid Mod Mom, I urge you to check them out too. They're consistently well-written, informative and beautiful blogs about great vintage finds.