Judge, 1904-02-20 · page 3 of 16
Judge — February 20, 1904 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a six-panel comic strip featuring "Nervy Nat," a character in checkered clothing and a top hat who appears to be a con artist or small-time scoundrel. The narrative follows him attempting to seduce or romance a woman named Daphne by fabricating a story about meeting her at the opera in Manhattan. When she doesn't recognize him, Nat improvises, claiming she was "blind fool" at the time. The strip depicts classic turn-of-the-century urban humor: a scheming male character using flattery and false stories to impress a woman. The humor relies on the gap between Nat's transparent deceptions and his confidence in delivering them. This represents period-typical romantic comedy based on gender dynamics and social deception.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Nervy Nat—"'l must have made a hit with some fair Lizzie. Will you listen to this? ‘Personal—Will the distinguished dark gentleman ‘wearing an opera-hat, who noticed plump lady in a chiffon toque on the *1* station last evening nest her at Twenty-eighth-street station this after- noon at three o'clock? Daphne.’ Daphne, I'll be there.”” 2. Nervy Nat—‘‘It's rather cold waiting here, but no one can ever say that Nervy Nat Is a laggard in love. What was it the poet sald?‘ Here is the platform, here is the time of day, and here's yours truly; but where in Manhattan is the girl?" Nervy Nat—'* ‘Tis Daphne—'tis the toque! I don't know whether it's chiffon or cheese-cloth, or what, but ‘tis the fair Daphne. | can tell that by her cute little ears. I shall now give her a happy moment. She is naturally shy. Her maidenly coyness but enhances her charms in my distinguished estimation." Nervy Nar—‘Ah, dear Daphne! recognizeth me thou, oh, loving + one? There, there, my startled fawn! | have come—your distinguished admirer in the opera-hat "— One of THE wearer sex—"'I'll Daphne you, you fresh guy! You better tackle somebody in your own class next time. You can't monkey with ‘ Biceppa,’ the lady bag-puncher and all-round strong woman. Get off the earth!" Nervy Nat—"'I ought to have known this wasn't Daphne—blind fool that | was!"" Nervy Nat—'*She threw me over! I've tumbled to that fact. If I ever meet the blackguard who gets up those spurious personals in the papers I'll inveigle him into a hardware-store while | swipe a chilled-stee!, razor-edged, man’s-size axe. | shall then proceed to bury that implement under his wishbone.”” NO. 12.—NERVY NAT MAKES A HIT. comicbooks.com