Judge, 1909-01-09 · page 16 of 16
Judge — January 9, 1909 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a six-panel slapstick comedy strip depicting escalating chaos. "Little Johnny" and toy "Teddy Bears" throw a snowball that hits a grocer-man, initiating a chain reaction of collateral damage: the grocer collides with a painter carrying a brush, who then strikes the grocer with paint cans, creating further mayhem. The bears watch the resulting "fur and feathers fly" (likely the painter's feathers from his hat) with amusement. The humor relies on classic slapstick tropes: innocent mischief spiraling into absurd consequences where bystanders suffer instead of the original culprits. The caption's final moral—hoping the adults will "spank the Teds and Johnny"—adds ironic commentary on the children's escape from punishment. The page functions partly as advertising, promoting Judge Company's smaller "Teddy Bears in Fun and Frolic" edition.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
uage- LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. EXPLAINING HOW THE FEUD BEGAN BETWEEN THEM AND THE GROCER-MAN. -—— a = = i, BATT —— ee sea AS 1, John and the Teds were throwing snow 2. And with the usual result! ‘And having heaps of fun, | know ; Like stones flung from a catapult But as the grocer hove in view John and the bea John's snowball hit him hard and true. ‘Once more by #01 3. Around the block they madly rush 4. Meanwhile the victim ‘s gotten closer, And meet a painter with his brush, And whiz! the painter strikes the grocer. He looks at them with smiles and stares— Off fly the cans of paint and things “ By gum! Just see those Teddy Bears !"* As if they had the gift of wings. 5. The Teds, relieved of fear, stand by 6. But if they “d only stop to see, And watch the fur and feathers fly. ‘They ‘d witness peals of joy and glee. ‘The victims, wild with indignation, Indeed, indeed, I hope they do, Indulge in dreadful altercation. And spank the Teds and Johnny, too. COPYRIGHT, INS, BY JUDGR COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, FIFTH AVENUE AND MADISON SQUAR™, NEW YORK. Because of the great demand for the popular large-sized “Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears” book, we have exheusted our supply. We have on hand, however, an attractively bound smaller edition, called “The Teddy Bears in Fun and Frolic,” which will be sent, postpaid, for 25 cents, on receipt of price, by Judge Company, 225 Fifth Avenue, New York. comicbooks.com