Judge, 1909-02-13 · page 12 of 20
Judge — February 13, 1909 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a serialized children's story promoting "Teddy Bears"—toys named after President Theodore Roosevelt, who was popular during his presidency (1901-1909). The narrative follows "Little Johnny" and toy bears who encounter a whale while visiting a naval fleet. The comic appears to be primarily **advertising content** disguised as entertainment. The bottom text explicitly promotes the book "Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears," with a notice that a smaller edition called "The Teddy Bears in Fun and Frolic" is available for 35 cents. The story itself contains no obvious political satire—it's wholesome children's adventure material capitalizing on the "Teddy Bear" craze of the early 1900s. The whale swallowing sequence and subsequent rescue by sailors provides the narrative tension and humor for young readers. This represents Judge magazine's commercial side: using its platform to sell branded merchandise tied to contemporary cultural figures.
📄 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. THE TEDS ARE SWALLOWED BY A WHALE WHEN THEY GO OUT THE FLEET TO HAIL ‘ | 4 ee dla | v5) Py \| | ey) <= ed “Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears” book, we have exhausted our supply. We ave on hand, however, an attractively bound amaller edition, called “The Teddy Bears in Fun and Frolic,” which will be sent, postpaid, for 35 cents, on receipt of price, by Judge Company, 225 Fifth Avenue, New York. comicbooks.com