Judge, 1898-11-26 · page 20 of 20
Judge — November 26, 1898 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1898 comic strip from *Judge* depicts a humorous sequence of a sleepwalker's nighttime misadventure. A man named P. James, intoxicated ("takes a drop"), falls asleep on a high-rise building's roof and begins descending through successive floors while unconscious. As he falls, he accidentally collects clothing from each level: a shirt, trousers, and a coat—dressing himself completely by accident. The satire plays on the absurdity of the situation and period attitudes toward drunkenness as a source of comedy. The final panel shows James awakening at ground level, bewildered by his fully clothed state and unable to remember where the garments came from ("where did I get these clothes?"). The joke relies on slapstick physical comedy and the incongruity of gaining a complete outfit through such chaotic means—typical humor conventions of late-19th-century American satirical magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
2—Firra rioon—A shirt is hanging there, 1—From off the towering flat-house : P. Jamas, sleeping, takes a drop. > Pes A Ce Janes eee > Ghecks his falhupon the ling __ 4Tutp FLOOR—He has the trousers—note How likewise he will get a coat. 5—SECOND PLOOR—Got 1 6—Grownp FLooR—All out! He homeward goes, He lands below upon , “Great Scott | where did T get these clothes ?” THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A SLEEP-WALKER. } COPMONT 1898 BY ARK EK PUBLISHING COMPANY OF NEW YORR ‘Sackett 8 Withelms Litho & Phi Co New York. comicbooks.com