Back in the early days of films, the Bobby Bumps shorts by Bray Studio were among the best...with nice animation and a mischievous jerk of a leading character. By today's standards the films seem quaint...but for 1916 films like "Bobby Bumps Helps a Book Agent" is exceptional.
Like so many of the shorts, Bobby makes Pa's life difficult. In this case, he messes with a door to door book salesman and Pa....and as punishment, Pa makes the boy buy a book and read (what scum!!). Naturally, Pa's infamy must be punished by Bobby and his pup.
Due to changes in sensibilities, this might be a VERY problematic short to watch today and I am glad TCM didn't edit out the offensive portion of the short (the very stereotypical black child eating watermelon) but it still is sad to see. In addition, it's not one of the better ones...with fewer laughs but excellent animation.