Judge, 1907-09-14 · page 16 of 16
Judge — September 14, 1907 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous children's comic strip, not political satire. It depicts "Little Johnny" and anthropomorphic "Teddy Bears" (toys named after President Theodore Roosevelt, popular in the early 1900s) playing pranks on urban authority figures. The plot: mischievous characters trick a sleeping policeman by positioning him near a banana cart vendor. When the cop awakens and stumbles into the cart, chaos ensues—the cop blames the vendor, the vendor blames the cop, and neither realizes the children orchestrated it. The children escape before consequences arrive. The humor relies on slapstick (physical comedy) and the irony of authority figures wrongly blaming each other while the actual culprits flee. It's lighthearted entertainment advertising a book series, with no deeper political meaning. The "Teddy Bears" reference was simply a marketable novelty based on the popular toy craze of that era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Aiaige- LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. THE TEDS PLAY A TRICK ON A POLICEMAN AND A PUSH-CART MAN, AND THEN HAVE A RUN PROM THE DANGER-ZONE. 1, A dandy cop against a tree A-snoring is a sight to see. No wonder John and Teds are quick To see a chance to play a trick! 3. Sir Cop first rushes toward the Teds, Intending straight to break their heads... But soon he finds that with his feet **, He's pulling push-carts through the street. . Thus, while the Teds and John stand by, Sir Cop and Sir Itallan try To figure out just who is who, And John and Teds enjoy the view. 2. Sir Cop awakens with ¢ start. He does not see the ** banan" cart, Nor dream of trouble to ensue When the ** banan"* man wakes up, too, 4. The push-cart ruan Is mad, you bet! Ard blames the cop for the upset. The cop, of course, thinks he knows now Just who's to blame for all the row. That each has acted like jest at this juncture Johnny it's time the Teds took to their heels. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, #25 FOURTH AVE., NEW YORK. The First Series of the adventures of Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears” is now ready in book-form. Price, 60 cents ; postage free. 4 Address JuDGK Company, 225 Fourth Avenue, New York. comicbooks.com