A St. Louis woman and her acquaintances go ape for peacenik collectibles
By Reine Bayoc
Photographs by Ashley Heifner
Susan Scribner took to collecting “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” monkeys—those little simian figurines in various stages of sensory deprivation—at her father’s request when he suffered a stroke and macular degeneration set in. “He said to me, ‘I can’t see. I can’t hear. I can’t talk right. I’m like those monkeys!’” Scribner says.
After Scribner found her first set, in 1981, with the help of a friend, her inner monkey junkie swung into action. What started as a treasure hunt at the request of an ailing father became an insatiable affinity for all things blind, deaf and mute.
eBay opened a new avenue for Scribner’s search for more sets of the “no evil monkeys,” but it also introduced her to a community of like-minded monkey maniacs. Scribner repeatedly encountered the same bidding challengers—sometimes losing out to them, other times not—but instead of resenting them, she invited them to St. Louis for the inaugural Three Monkeys Conference, in October 2001. After get-togethers in Memphis, Las Vegas and Kansas City, Mo., Scribner brought the conference back to St. Louis for its fifth anniversary earlier this summer.
Scribner demonstrated her devotion to this peculiar passion in June when she unveiled her personal collection of more than 1,000 pieces to fellow collectors. Monkeys were the focus, but geisha girls, nuns and even pigs were on display, striking the all-too-familiar pose. The reserved group gathered around, chummily chattered and hovered over each set, mesmerized, even though they’d seen similar objects a thousand times before.
It’s more than just a social event for the 36-member international group, though. “As collectors, we are interested in the background and the history of this saying,” Scribner says. “Attributing its actual founding remains a focus.” So is celebrating some of its devotees. Mahatma Gandhi traveled the world carrying a tin cup and, yes, a set of wise monkeys, and grandson Arun Gandhi attended this year’s event to discuss their importance to his grandfather.
Once the monkeys are seen, their draw is undeniable, and so is the message. “If everyone lived their lives by this adage,” says Scribner, “we’d have more harmony.” Wisdom worth collecting.
