Smoking Monkey Antiques

I found this rather lovely 1916 edition of a Bury St Edmunds guidebook. Beautiful adverts I particularly love the ones for schools.
Price is £20

We have a beautiful pair of brass crucifixes today. These clearly screw into something but I’m not sure what. I think if they were processional crosses the backs would be fancier…but I could be wrong.
Each cross measures 30cm by 15 cm and the price is £65 for the pair.

We always keeps nice range of vintage and secondhand fabrics in the shop…mainly because I love them but it turns out many of you do too.
This is an amazing piece of 1970s linen furnishings fabric, the design is called Pandora and it’s designed by Bernard Wardle.
The length is 480cm and the width is 120cm. This would be perfect for curtains, cushions or can you imagine a winter coat in this!
The price is £45

This vintage coin operated arcade game needs to find a new home. I believe it was on Southend Pier in the 1970s. It will work but needs a slight adjustment by someone who knows what they are doing. I can confirm that the sound effects are pretty loud!
The width is 60cm and the height is 145cm
ANY SENSIBLE OFFER CONSIDERED

I have something a bit special for you this morning…well I think so anyway.
This Spanish Surrealist crucifix is after Salvador Dali, and I believe it is gilt bronze. It is quite large measuring 67cm by 40cm.
The price is £220

Firstly I would like to say thank you for your support following my last post. Sadly I have got to the stage where I just accept shoplifting as the perpetrators are generally anonymous. However, standing face to face and speaking with the three people who conned me made it all seem very personal.
Not the brightest of days today but a jug of sunflowers always looks sunny. Hope you all have a good week whatever your plans are ❤️

I took down my post about shoplifting yesterday as I did not wish to offend. I was very angry so I turned off my phone, had a good cry and a bit of a meltdown. However you cannot let these people get the better of you.
Sadly this is not a crime that is going to go away and it’s one we all pay for in different ways. I do feel that as a society we have got so used to this crime that we are prepared just to accept it and not see it as a crime with victims. Those of us who have shops or stall out at fairs know only to well that this is not the case.
I don’t know the answer to this problem, and like the rest of us, I have no alternative but to continue to accept it and pretend it’s just part of being a shop keeper. I love what I do, I love my customers, I love my shop and I love antiques…but I hate shoplifters.
Apologies for the rant…I will now turn my phone back on and get on with things. If you read this thank you for indulging me❤️

Beautiful old French cast iron memorial piece, a really beautiful looking piece for your house or garden.
Height 70cm, price £200

This is a complete set of 26 tree alphabet cards with randomly posed ladies. They were posted in 1909 and all to and from the same two people, which I think is lovely. There were published in Germany by Theodor Eismann. They are not perfect and there are a few little scuffs, but do nice to have a full set.
The price is £50 for the full set.

I’ve recently acquired some more Bury St Edmunds books, postcards and ephemera for your delectation but this newspaper cutting is my favourite thing. I just love the idea of all of these ladies in their slippers and pinnies popping round to their local for their elevenses.

This morning we have some rather fun dolls based on Charles Dickens characters, Fagin and The Artful Dodger. These cloth dolls were made by Edith Russell, I believe these were made in the 1960s and were sold in the Charlotte Studios in Broadstairs.
They are 19cm tall and the price for the pair is £55 and I think I’d like to keep them together.

I bought this embroidered picture at the weekend and it really is quite unusual. I am assuming it was worked in the 1970s to commemorate the 40th wedding anniversary of the elderly couple by the younger woman who I am assuming is her daughter. It is worked in a fine woollen embroidery yarn and completely covers the fabric.
I would love to take this out if the frame to see how it is made but I am worried I might damage it.
I particularly love the Laura Ashley wallpaper.
This measures 22cm by 30cm and the price is £40.

This is a really beautiful wall plaque, or could be used as a trinket dish, depicting the Trundholm sun chariot, an important Danish Bronze Age artefact.
Judging from the weight and colour I would think it’s bronze. I think it was made in Denmark in the 1950s/60s.
It measures 20cm by 13cm and the price is £45.

Catering for your motoring DIY needs here at Smoking Monkey Antiques

I am not an expert by any means long way but I am always attracted to beautiful old china. I recently found these plates that I believe are hand painted early 19th century Coalport Money Tree pattern. Whatever they are they are very pretty and the colours are gorgeous. As you will see the condition isn’t perfect but that is to be expected.
The price is £30 each or £50 for the pair.

I adore the work of William Morris and Edward Burne Jones and these three tile pictures are a great way to get a little Arts and Crafts style into your room without a massive price tag.
The originals were designed and painted in the 1860s, two are in an over mantle in Queens College Cambridge and the other was in a private house.
These are obviously copies and I believe they were made for the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow.
The framed tile pictures are £30 each. The overall size of each one is 19cm by 33cm

Wishing you all a very happy Easter from Smoking Monkey Antiques. We will be open as usual on Good Friday and Easter Saturday

Just how pretty are these little metal candlesticks, probably 1960s and made in Italy…but I’m not sure.
Height 19cm and just £24 for the pair.

This plaque in the Gothic Revival style dates to around 1900 and was made in France.
It is signed J Doisy, silver plate and mounted on a brass easel stand. I have seen one of these mounted on wood rather than the brass. The actual plaque is in lovely condition but the brass easel has some staining. The subject is Mary Notre Dame De Lourdes.
Overall height is 27cm and the price is £65

Today is all about finding pretty pots for my primroses…there is something about these plants that really say Spring is just around the corner…and look how thrilled this couple of kids are about them.

The most alarming thing about this book is that it was aimed at children! The Yellow Fairy Book is by Andrew Lang and published in 1894. The superb illustrations are by H J Ford and are a glorious mixture of the Gothic and the Pre Raphaelite, which in my humble opinion is the best.
There is slight discolouration to some of the pages but the overall condition is good. Price is £50

Just the best doorstop ever! This beautiful frog and her baby are made from cast iron and quite heavy. It clearly has some age but I’m not sure when it was made. Length is 22cm and the price is £50.

Following on with our religious theme we have two amazing cast iron prie dieu or praying chairs. These originally came from a French convent and date back to the 19th century. They were clearly painted many years ago. They would look lovely indoors or as garden furniture. Height of back of seat 86cm and the price is £575 for the pair.

We have something completely different for you today…a portable marble alter stone. Details of the consecration which took place in New York in 1950 are on the back. There was a custom of sealing religious relics in a cavity in the stone…so who knows what’s inside…
This measures 23cm square and the price is £60.
This is very heavy and I would prefer not to post.

As you know I am always looking for stuff with local interest and I was thrilled to find this etching of the St Edmundsbury Cat by Mike Tingle.
Those of you who are observant will notice many local landmarks including St John’s Street. This is a limited edition 33/150, I am not entirely sure of the date but looking at the frame I would think 1980s.
What ever the date it is a very cool image.
Frame is 33cm by 37m and the price is £80

Nothing says Spring like a bunch of daffodils in a gorgeous vase. The sun is shining let’s make the most of it.
Hope you all have a good weekend

Those of you who know me or my other IG account will know that I am passionate about old fabrics. The majority of what I wear is made from old soft furnishings, mainly curtains.
I want to spread the love and so we are now stocking vintage and pre-loved fabrics in the shop. It will be a constantly changing selection so we hope you find something nice.

Jacko, the coolest monkey on earth, and everyone else at Smoking Monkey Antiques, would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. Wishing you, health, peace and happiness for the coming year and beyond.
This wonderful illustration is the work of my dear friend

We would like to wish all our customers a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy new year.
Thank you for your continued support over the last year and we will look forward to finding more gorgeous things for you in 2024.
We are here today, Friday 22nd till 4pm and Saturday 10am to 5pm.
The shop will then be closed until 10pm Saturday 30th December.
Hope to see you soon
Illustration by