Judge, 1907-11-16 · page 16 of 16
Judge — November 16, 1907 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a children's comic strip about mischievous teddy bears who help a boy named Johnny whitewash a fence—then prank his father by rigging a bucket of whitewash above a door. When Johnny's father enters, the bucket falls and covers him in whitewash, sending him running down the street. The humor is straightforward slapstick: the teddy bears conspire with Johnny to embarrass an authority figure (the father). "Whitewashing" references both literal fence-painting and the contemporary political meaning—covering up wrongdoing—though the strip uses it only literally here. The reference to "Teddy Bears" likely capitalizes on the toy craze inspired by President Theodore Roosevelt's 1902 bear-hunting incident. This appears to be the first in a planned book series, as the footer advertises the collection. The satire is gentle and domestic rather than political—poking fun at paternal authority through childish pranks 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.
Muage- LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. THE TEDS HELP JOHNNY DO SOME WHITEWASHING, AND WHILE HE'S CONE THEY WHITEWASH JOUN'S PA. 1. Naw, John’s been whitewalbiog, you must know, 2. No sooner is he go: And goes away an hour or 80. Simail Teda begtt thelr tricks, He tals the Teddies each and all Two put the bucket above the door: To watch the bucket and not let it fall. The others look on from the floor. 3. And now they've fixed a rope and tied 4. Pa Wiseman hears the noise anon It to the door on the Inside. And comes to see what's going on. The litle tmpe are flied with glee ‘The Teddles crouch against the wall At what they've done so far, you see. And walt to see the bucket fall. 5. And, sure enough, it falls, fie bet, 6. And here you see the whitewashed man And pa is wondering what he'll get. Going ‘oun the street fast as he can. Of course it's plain to every eye We'll leave you to imagine what Just what he's going to get. Oh, my! The Teds will get if they are caught. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGF COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, #25 FOURTH AVE., NEW YORK. ‘The Viret Series of the adventures of Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears” ts now ready in handsome book-form. Price, 60 cents. For by book-dealers everywhere, oF sent postpaid upon receipt of price by Judge Company, 213 Fourth Avenue, New Yor! comicbooks.com