Judge, 1908-10-24 · page 22 of 24
Judge — October 24, 1908 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a six-panel comic strip featuring "Nervy Nat," a recurring character in Judge magazine. The humor centers on a homeless vagrant (the "hobo") attempting farm work during harvest season, despite his obvious incompetence and refined pretensions. The satire targets class pretense: Nat poses as a gentleman farmer (wearing a top hat while doing manual labor) but lacks any actual farming skill. The farmer's exasperation—"Where in tarnation did ye learn farmin'?"—mocks Nat's absurd incompetence. The humor also plays on the tramp's delusions; he romanticizes rest and nature ("The purling brook for mine") while creating chaos through explosions and destruction. The strip satirizes both the pretentious hobo and rural labor itself, reflecting early 20th-century American attitudes toward vagrants and agricultural work as sources of comedic spectacle.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ala Maryland do you balance this accursed for this low occupation. Golly! look at jcen wives and stary- those tis the most de F where in tarnation did ye learn farmin’? languaye! ‘This is no place for me.” w thet the old m: in* thet hobo, TI 6. Nervy Nat—“Si js too much! be blowed if ¢ an’ a few minutes’ rest. Gosh! but thet was I'll be b “m ne f Are, Why can’t these hob- surroundin And I'm nailed joy a he observe this? How long not J, eyether. ‘The purling brook for mine. NO. O4-NERVY NAT HELPS AT HARVESTING. 5 IPTH AVENUE, NEW YORK NOTE.—The First Series of Nervy Ni now ready, bound In book form. Price, 75 cents; 10 cents additional Tor poste when ordered by mall. Address JUDGE COMPANY, 225 Fifth Avenue, New York. comicbooks.com