Bruegel designed the original version of this scene, engraved by Pieter van der Heyden and published by Hieronymus Cock in 1562 (a state from 1557 exists, without the name of Bruegel). It bears the title 'Quand le mercier son doulx repos veult prendre, en vente les singes ses marchandises vont tendre'. It is, however, different in many respects from our version, which replaces Bruegel's name with Visscher's, the publisher, and claims van Harlingen as its inventor. Bruegel has four monkeys dancing in a circle, while others are actually playing the musical instruments culled from the merchant's sack, unlike our version, which has the monkeys dancing around the instruments. The merchant has a sack (albeit a large one) instead of an entire shelving unit and the curiosity of the monkeys is more vulgar; for instance, a monkey with an erect penis looks into the mirror (which does not play the strange role it does in our Visscher version). In the Bruegel, the merchant's trousers have also been dropped, but in the place of the mirror is a monkey simply holding its nose as if in disgust