Judge, 1907-12-21 · page 10 of 16
Judge — December 21, 1907 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1907 comic strip follows "Nervy Nat," a vagabond character, as he encounters a goose while walking the country roads. The humor relies on a series of misunderstandings: Nat mistakes automobile horns for the goose's honking, creating escalating confusion. The satire targets automobiles as a modern menace—new, unpredictable, and dangerous to pedestrians. Nat's repeated mishaps with cars (nearly hit multiple times) reflect early-1900s anxieties about this emerging technology invading rural spaces. His final quip about making profit from stocks during an earthquake suggests opportunistic greed amid chaos. The strip's appeal lies in physical comedy (Nat's acrobatic dodging) and the contrast between old rural life (geese, pedestrians, country roads) and intrusive modern technology. The date (1907) places this during automobiles' rapid adoption, when their threat to public safety was genuinely controversial.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1, Nervy Nat—"‘I believe some rhymester once said, * What 1s 30 rare as aday in June?’ Buta fine, cool December morning like this has it backed off the calendar. Nothing like it for pedestrianism. I'm getting a 6x8 ap- petite for the next handout." Tue coose—"* Honk!"* — 3. Nervy Nat—" Well, I'll be! Look what frightened me Into palpitation of the heart! Oh, very well, you paté-de-fol-gras factory! Just wait until | brush off my lid and I'll show you something.” S. 90000000000000! Chug, chug! Zing Nexvy Nat—"‘Geerusalem! these cussed automobiles are beyond endur- ance. One Is not safe from them on a lonely country highway, It""— 4. Tue avtomosite—"‘ Honk! honk!" Nervy Nat—'*Ha, hal! two more of them! The geese in this vicinity must be holding a honkfest. Ill Just remain passive, and In a few seconds I'll have a half-nelson around one of thelr swan-like necks. 1 always was fond of roast goose. 6. Nervy Nat—“‘ Earthquakes are terrible things so unexpected, so sud- ut den! I guess this one lays over the "Frisco shake about a mile and two-thirds. ‘What's this | hear coming over the wire—amalgamated tea-lead has gone up 164 feet and three yards? Lovely! "Tis a bum automobile that blows no- body good.”* NO. 29.—NERVY NAT ALMOST HAS A GOOSE FOR DINNER... COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMP/NY, PUBLISHERS, 225 FOURTH AVE, KEW YORK. NOTE.—The First Series of Nervy Nat's Adventures ts now ready, handsomely bound, tn book-form. Price, for postage mail, Address JUDGE OO) ‘when ordered by ™ te, 10 "ANY, 225 Fourth Avenue, New Yorks | n™ “adttional comicbooks.com