Judge, 1908-11-28 · page 7 of 16
Judge — November 28, 1908 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a children's comic strip rather than political satire. It depicts a Thanksgiving nightmare: young Johnny plays with his "Teddy Bears" (stuffed animals named after President Theodore Roosevelt, whose popularity made them a commercial phenomenon in the early 1900s), then dreams a turkey he challenged comes alive and grows menacingly larger. His teddy bear companions vanish as the giant gobbler approaches. Johnny wakes screaming and tells his toys about the frightening dream. The humor relies on childhood fears and the surreal logic of dreams—a common theme in early-20th-century children's comics. The "Teddy Bears" are simply toys, not political figures. The strip serves primarily as advertisement for a 60-cent book collection available from Judge Company, suggesting this was a popular recurring series.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. YOUNG JOHNNY HAS A FEARFUL FRIGHT AFTER THE FEAST, THANKSGIVING NIGHT. Y/ ah mT (MLA 11) Yi | || ung qh 2. ‘The turkey heard the challenge rash, And instantly he made a dash Right to the spot whence John had beckoned, And growing bigger every second. 4. And as the gobbler huge draws near ‘The ‘Teds begin to disappear. Poor John foresees a dreadful fate “Tis very horrid to relate 6. Then Johnny screamed and woke in bed, And, rousing straight each sleeping ‘Ted, He told them of the dreadful fray ‘The night after ‘Thanksgiving Day “the ys And starts The First Series of the adventures of “Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears” is now ready in handsome book form. Price, 60 cents. For sale by book dealers everywhere, or sent postpaid upon receipt of price by Judge Company, Filth Avenue and Madison Square, New York. comicbooks.com