Organ grinders were a special people who brought smiles to the many faces of adults and children alike during very difficult times – war; high unemployment, and so on. If we could please keep our angry thoughts and comments pertaining to animal cruelty and abuse to a minimum today, as this post has nothing to do with that particular topic. So… can it, would ya!

An organ grinder would want to have a loving friendship with his furry, busking companion, no? It would be very difficult to constantly abuse a monkey without the monkey trashing the organ grinder’s abode and not leaving behind scratches and bite marks on his Master. The monkey would for certain be appearing in the next street show with a limp, broken limb or some sign of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). But, alas! Those monkeys seemed to enjoy interacting with children and collecting tips!

What’s a spank once in a while? The organ grinder wouldn’t want to spank his monkey too often – just enough to let his monkey know how to behave properly in public.

“No peeking up the ladies’ skirts!”.– “Only pickpocket from the gentlemen!” — if the organ grinder was lucky enough to find such a wise monkey to partner up with.

Just enjoy the images and the short cartoon and try not to complain – if you’re the type!

Organ Grinder ca. 1848 Gabriel Cromer Collection

The Organ Grinder – Merrie Melodies: A Hugh Harman – Rudolf Ising Production – 1933

An organ grinder and his monkey stroll down a New York street when his monkey spots a building with ladies dangling from their windows,  climbs to collect the tips, dances and does a few flips for the kids. Intelligent monkey then impersonates Harpo Marx, Stan Laurel, and Oliver Hardy – 3 classic comedians you may not know of, if you’re under the age of 40 – and also before the days of having to drop F-bombs to stir up a laugh. Monkey also finds himself in a run-away-car, ruins a fruit stand and crashes into a music store!

– altered by Hystoria