Judge, 1904-03-19 · page 5 of 16
Judge — March 19, 1904 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge comic satirizes a confident con artist who uses charm and bluffing to obtain goods without payment. "Nervy Nat" enters a shop claiming he needs clothing, confident his "diplomacy" will secure credit. When the clerk grows suspicious, Nat performs an elaborate phone trick—pretending to call J.P. Morgan (the famous banker) about a financial transaction while secretly keeping the phone disconnected, fooling the clerk into believing he's wealthy. The satire targets both Nat's audacious social climbing and the clerk's gullibility. Nat's references to the "club" and casual name-dropping mock aspirational con men of the era. The final panels reveal the scheme's inevitable collapse when caught with unpaid goods. The humor derives from the absurdity of using mere nerve and pretense to circumvent honest commerce—a commentary on Gilded Age social mobility and class deception.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Nervy Nat—"' By Jove! | certainly need some new dress-shirts and things. It will take quite a bit of my justly famous diplomacy to get credit in this Willie-boy's shop: but my nerve is in the pink of condition, so here goes.” Nervy Nat—t How d’ do? Er—my man tells me I need a dozen dress-shirts, a couple of dozen collars, and four or five sets of silk—er— undergarments. If you'll do ‘em up for me I'll take ‘em right along with me. Y'know I'm not at all snobbish about carrying packages. Of course the chaps at the club rather chaff mea bit, y' know—say I'm demmed democratic and all that sort of thing. Now, fix up those things—that's a good chap" — Cierx— Now, my man, you'd better step out of here quietly, as we don’t want to make any disturbance.”* Neave Nat, (stepping to the ‘phone)—" Give, me sixteen-ninety-one Pine. Hello! That Mr. Morgan? Hello, Pont! How about that hun- dred thou, you were going to net me in canned salmon? Oh, you did? You placed It to my account? Thanks, old chap! How's butter—strong?, Well, see you to-night at that fool dinner. Beastly bore. Yes. So long!” Crerk—"* My dear sir, | hope you'll pardon my error. Command us in any way, I entreat you.” i| Or, UNH oy rs 2 amo \ I WAM nN Cierx—" Holy anthracite! Central says no one called her up Just now from here. That feller played a trick on me! Gee! but I'm a Soft mark. Well, I'll nab the guy.” Nexvy Nat—' My gray matter is all the radium. I kept my finger on the little rack all the time, so It didn't disturb the day-dreams of Cen- tral a little bit,”” 4 Cuerk—*1 wish you would let me send those for you, sir. Well, do call again, sir. Good-day!” 3 Nervy Nat—"'Yes, me good man: I'm needing things constantly. (To himself.) That's no dream, either!"* llig aE 6. Tue cop—* Caught wid de goods, me b'y!"" Tue cLerx—" Take him away, officer! That's the man!" Nervy Nat— There is no necessity for so much affection—I'll come without coaxing. It's a wonder the sergeant doesn’t detail a special cop Just to follow me around.” NO. 16.—NERVY NAT NEARLY WINS OUT. comicbooks.com