Posted by Dave Thewlis on October 29, 2012 at 18:09:17 user dthewlis.
In Reply to: Re: Crab Island's and Gibber's real-life prototypes posted by Andy Clayton on October 28, 2012 at 07:07:39:
"A mischievous anthropomorphic monkey boy, Jacko Monkey was a member of the Bruin Boys, created by artist Julius Stafford Baker. He first appeared in the Daily Mirror newspaper's comics section in April 1904. In November 1904 the group began appearing in The Monthly Playbox, a colour supplement in The World and his Wife magazine, and from 1909 until at least 1942 they also appeared in Playbox Annual."
This is from a site called Comicvine (www.comicvine.com). It suggests an origin point for Jacko as a name for a monkey dating from the beginning of the 20th century, but it certainly allows for the possibility that Jacko was in common usage for a monkey name in the 19th century -- which in turn would explain Knight's sailors' usage of the name.