Judge, 1907-01-05 · page 16 of 16
Judge — January 5, 1907 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a six-panel comic strip satirizing a character named "Nervy Nat," an irreverent American art student or bohemian type. The strip depicts his pranks involving a French art instructor (Caduc) and a lay-figure—a wooden artist's mannequin used in studios for drawing practice. The humor centers on Nervy Nat's deliberate disrespect: he borrows the lay-figure to mock Caduc's appearance, dresses it in outlandish clothes, and generally torments the exasperated French instructor with pranks and insults. The strip plays on period stereotypes of "artistic" Americans as undisciplined pranksters, contrasted against dignified (if easily flustered) European authority figures. The satire mocks American irreverence toward Old World formality, while Caduc's fractured English ("sacré," "beesness") reinforces ethnic caricature typical of 1908 Judge humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1, Nervy Nat—" By the technique of your hair and the wiggle of your trousers, 2. Nervy Nat—"‘Now, then, stand up! These clothes ought to instill in you I gather that you have that dread disease, artitis—is it not? Yes; | thought so. modicum of my four-ply, washable, non-shrinkable nerve. Consider, ch, hickor) Now, | have a little joke to play on Caduc. I'd like to borrow a lay-figure.”” pated one! these are duds of Nervy Nat, who would stand unblinking, unblust Art rerson—"Certainment! Come to my studio, mon ami.” ing, unashamed before a congress of the crowned nuts of Europe, even with tw< weeks’ growth of cactus on his chin.”* 3. Nervy Nat—'‘Ah, dear old Caduc! See what is stenciled on his classic 4. Sercent Cavuc—"* Sacré filet mignon! You have for ze last time insult me, mug—surprise, horror and incredulity, with a dash of delirium. You can almost Nairvie Nat. You will to ze caboose go for ten years!" see what is going on In that one-cylinder brain of his. He is thinking. ‘Can it Nervy Nat—"ti'm going to laugh right out loud in a minute and spoil the be that cultivated gentleman, Nervous Nathaniel, who ts so vulgarly forgetting whole thing. Wish I had a copy of Punch to sober up on. I know I shall— his dignity in this manner?" ha, hal’ Se ere _" : dog! eet is not Nat. Aha! there you 6. Sercent Capuc—"*Zis monkey beesness shall have to stop!"" ( soe mouse api ah Meg x Nervy Nat—'' Be good enough to keep what you flatter yourself are your " Nexvr Nat—"Peck-a-boo, Caddy! I see you, too, you little fat rascal! |» thoughts to yourself. | thought you d have better taste than to insist on dragging What are you scuffling about down there? Go ‘way: you're most annoying. 1 , A’. me through the streets In this pink-and-yellow tub-gown. If It had been any balleve I'l have you arrested one of these days, you litte French mucker!" other colors!"" NERVY NAT, THE ART PERSON AND THE LAY-FIGURE, COPYRIGHT 1908 BY JUUOE COMPANY PUBLONERS 220 FOURTH AVE. REW YORK in Fir roy ice, comicbooks.com