Judge, 1907-09-21 · page 16 of 16
Judge — September 21, 1907 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1907 comic strip satirizes childhood mischief and school authority. "Little Johnny" and his "Teddy Bears" (likely referring to the popular stuffed toys named after President Theodore Roosevelt) orchestrate a prank on their schoolmaster to escape lessons. The humor targets two things: children's universal desire to avoid school, and perhaps implicitly, the rigid educational system of the era that kept boys "cooped up" indoors rather than playing outdoors. The bears represent youthful rebellion and mischief. The prank itself appears to involve paste and brushes—suggesting they've defaced or decorated something (possibly the schoolhouse)—to distract the teacher and earn a day off. The final panels show the "master" discovering their scheme and threatening punishment with a stick, a common disciplinary tool of the period. The satire is gentle, celebrating children's cleverness and rule-breaking rather than condemning it.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Suage LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. TMEY PLAY A TRICK ON THE SCHOOLMASTER, SO AS TO GET ANOTHER DAY OUT OF SCHOOL. | 1. Of course the Teds don't understand 2. From tears to sriiles they quickly turn, Why boys must now stop playing and And presently the cause you'll learn. Spend nearly all their time in school. But now it would be hard to say To them it seems a foolish rule. Just what they're up to, anyway. 4. One Ted has paste and one a brush, And all are going with a rush. The moon, you'll notice, with both eyes Is looking down in great surprise. . » but he can’t figure out Just what the midgets are about. They're doing something, though, all right, And doing it with all their might. 6. We guess the master 's hopping mad, The teacher also sees the same, But Johnny and the Teds look glad. But doesn’t yet know John and Teds No doubt ‘twould make them all feel sick Devised {t all in their own heads. To know the prof. 's gone for a stick. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 225 FOURTH AVE,, NEW YORK. "rice, 60 cents ; postage free. The First Serie} of the adventures of * comicbooks.com