Judge, 1909-03-06 · page 16 of 17
Judge — March 6, 1909 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a children's comic strip from *Judge* magazine featuring a birthday party conflict. Little Johnny introduces new toy animals—"Taffy 'Possums" and a "Bumble Puppy"—to his existing Teddy Bears at his party. The strip depicts a rivalry between the toy groups: the established Teddy Bears resent the newcomers and attempt to drive them away by ambushing them with sticks near a muddy pool. The prank backfires when Johnny himself gets knocked into the mud instead. Eventually, the original Teddy Bears are locked indoors while Johnny celebrates his party with the new toys outside, reversing the initial social hierarchy. The humor operates on a simple level—toy animal conflict and physical comedy—though it may obliquely reflect early 1900s anxieties about new consumer goods displacing established ones. The strip concludes by advertising the publisher's related "Teddy Bears" book line.
📄 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 TAFFY ’POSSUMS. JOHN INTRODUCES SOME NEW PETS AND GRIEVOUS ARE THE THANKS HE GETS. 1 ‘Twas Johnny's birthday, and the band 2. ‘The Taffy ‘Possums,”’ thinks each bear, Were planning for a party grand, “ And Bumble Puppy *'—how they stare! When John appears and bids them greet ‘The ‘Teds are not at all polite, ‘Three strange, new guests to share the treat. And quickly disappear from sight. 3. They do not like these upstarts new, 4. The door’s flung wide! Whack, go the Teds! And wish to show their point of view. ‘The mud is splashed above their heads. So armed with sticks, they laughing wait But it is Joho who gets the tumble, Beside a pool outside the gate. Not Taffy nor the queer new Bumble. 5. Alas, poor John! ‘The mournful sight 6. And when the party time comes round Fills Fike Tetay Beara with fright ‘The Teddies make a woeful sound. P; ‘They run to hide, but John's new crowd Locked in, they bear the festive glee Enjoy the scene with laughter loud. Of John and his new company. COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY JUDGE COMPANY, PUBLIBNERS, 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 exheusted our supply. We have on hand, however, an attractively bound smaller edition, called “The Teddy Bears in Fun and Fro! hich will be comicbooks.com