Judge, 1907-12-28 · page 16 of 17
Judge — December 28, 1907 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous six-panel comic strip from Judge magazine (1907) about misbehaving teddy bears—the popular plush toys named after President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. **The story**: Young Johnny receives teddy bears as Christmas gifts. The bears, given toy guns, shoot at Johnny for fun until they accidentally fall into a coal delivery hole and get buried under an avalanche of coal. When Johnny discovers them covered in coal dust, he makes a New Year's vow that they'll "be the best of Teddy bears" going forward. **The satire**: The joke works on two levels—literally as slapstick children's humor (mischievous toys get comeuppance), but also as gentle mockery of the teddy bear craze itself, which was sweeping America due to Roosevelt's popularity. The bears' brief "wildness" with toy guns, followed by their literal burial and reformation, may also reflect contemporary anxieties about uncontrolled behavior and the need for discipline. The caption promises this is "the first series," indicating the strip's commercial success.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Auage- LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. ‘THE TEDS MISUSE THEIR CHRISTMAS-TOYS, WITH SUDDEN END TO ALL THEIR JOYS. 1, While Johnny 's playing In the sun 2, Though Johnny doesn't see the fun, Each Teddy gets his Christmas gun The Teddles laugh and shout and run. And shoots and pops away witt glee, They think it's jolly, now and then, Till John is sore as he can be. To play a trick on John again. 3. But in the sidewalk gapes a hole— 4. Oh, horrors! In that dark abyss A place where coal-men pour their coal. They see that they have been remiss: ‘The Teds were laughing such a lot And while their frightened faces blanch, They never saw the fateful spot. They're buried ‘neath an avalanche. . The coal-man empties all his coal 6. Says laughing John, ** No time like now And starts to cover up the hole, To make a solemn New-Year's vow.” With lifted paw each Teddy swears And then he almost has a fit To see what cldmbers out of it! He'll be the best of Teddy bears. COPYRIGHT 1907 BY JUDGE COMPANY, FUBLISHERS, 225 FOURTH AVE, NEW YORK. ‘The First Series of the adventares of “ Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears” w ready in handsom: sale by book-dealers every where, or sent postpaid upom receipt of p: y Judge Company, 225 Fourth Avenue, New comicbooks.com