A Different Flying Monkey

This piece of artwork was done by John R. Neill around 1918 and was published in Pictorial Review magazine. It's a bizarre image that I call the monkey funeral - but is the monkey really dead, or is this perhaps a scam funeral? His toes certainly seem to be clutching the end of his coffin, and he is wearing quite the outfit. The crashed plane in the background leads me to think that the monkey may have been flying - not quite a Winged Monkey, but maybe a relative! Obviously, I have no idea what this drawing is actually illustrating, but it's a fascinating image.

A label on the back of the board reads: Charge to PR / Order no. 5321 / In work 1/10/18. I've been told it might possibly have been used to illustrate a Mrs. Mahoney story. Once again, if anyone runs across this image in print, I'd love to hear about it!