Judge, 1907-03-16 · page 7 of 16
Judge — March 16, 1907 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a children's comic strip playing on the "Teddy Bear" craze—plush toys named after President Theodore Roosevelt, hugely popular in the early 1900s. The humor is straightforward slapstick: young Johnny hides his toy bears in a rain barrel as a game. His mother, Norah, unknowingly dumps the barrel's water while doing laundry, drenching the toys and creating chaos. The joke culminates with Johnny cheerfully suggesting the soaked bears take a bath in soapsuds—turning disaster into fun. There's no political satire here. It's simply a domestic comedy exploiting the era's Teddy Bear fad and the physical humor of toys getting unexpectedly soaked. The strip reflects early-20th-century family life and children's entertainment, relying on visual gags rather than social commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE TEDDY BEARS. THEY HIDE PROM LITTLE JOHNNY IN THE RAIN-BARREL AND GET A PINE DUCKING. " Now, Teddies, don't you run away: 2. The Teddies, just to have some fun, I'll be right back, and then we'll play."* Climb in the barrel one by one. Thus Johnny speaks, then goes indoors They think they'll have their master guessing To help his mother with the chores. When he comes back and finds them missing. MaLakt 3. The barrel holds the six all right. 4. She pours the water from the tub— You see, not one of them ’s in sight. Great Scott! what's making that hubbub? The tip of Simpy’s tall hat shows, The splutters, splurges, * wows" and "* woops"* And—Norah ‘s just through with the clothes. Are fairly bursting the barrel’s hoops. 5, Over the barrel goes with a smash, 6. Whom do you think the Joke fs on? And out of its mouth six Teddies dash! Who ought to laugh—the Teds or John? Norah 's having a caniption fit, “ Hey, fellows!" cries John, “get off your duds And Johnny certainly looks scared a bit. And try another bath'in suds!” COPYRIGHT 1907 RY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISNERS, 225 FOURTH AVE, NEW YORK. comicbooks.com