Judge, 1909-02-20 · page 16 of 16
Judge — February 20, 1909 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous comic strip featuring "Little Johnny" (a popular character of the era) and anthropomorphic teddy bears attempting to play golf. The narrative follows their misadventures: Johnny, having watched golf once, confidently joins the bears for a round. His inexperience leads to comedic chaos—he breaks his stick on a wild swing, fails to hit the ball cleanly, and eventually strikes a bystander, sending everyone fleeing in panic. The joke is straightforward slapstick: overconfidence in an unfamiliar sport produces disaster. The strip also subtly mocks golf itself as a "horrid game" for both players and spectators. The "Teddy Bears" reference reflects the *Teddy Bear craze* following President Theodore Roosevelt's 1902 hunting trip, when stuffed bears became wildly popular toys. This comic served both as entertainment and as advertising for the larger "Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears" book series.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
uae LITTLE JOHNNY AND THE TEDDY BEARS. A VISIT SOUTH WITH BALMY AIR DELIGHTS THE SOUL OF BOY AND BEAR. 1. One pleasant day the ‘Teds decide at golf outside. ks and ball. nd John has hir He thinks that golf ‘s an easy play, After he'd watched a game one day. 3. The Th In awe He stril mith ctroke Ke Safe from behind a tree they view But bang and ctack ! he breaks the stick How Johnny lifts his stick anew. 4. The ball still lies untouched and clean, ‘The Teddies try a change of scene. 5. This time John’s ball flies with a whack, 6. Fly, Teddies, fly! run, Johnny, ran! And hits a poor man in the back ! ‘The victim does not like your fun. Absorbed, alas! he had not seen Golf is a horrid game, ‘tis true, Some people walking on the green. For player and spectator, too, COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, FIFTH AVENUE AND MADISON SQUARE, NEW YORK. Because of the great demand for the popular large-sized “Little Johnny and the Teddy Bears" book, we have sted our supply. We have on hand, however, an attractively bound smaller edition, called “The Teddy Bears in Fun and Froli which will be sent, postpaid, for 35 cents, on receipt of price, by Judge Company, 225 Fifth Avenue, New York. comicbooks.com