Puck — February 20, 1878 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents six working-class street vendors common in late 19th-century American cities. Each sketch depicts a distinct urban occupation: the Newsboy hawking papers, the Conductor (likely streetcar or transit worker), the Bootblack shining shoes, the Corn Vender selling hot corn, the Milkman with his delivery cart, and the Rag Man collecting discarded textiles. Rather than political satire, these are social sketches capturing metropolitan life. They satirize or gently mock the distinctive character types and street cries ("Hot Corn!" "Rags—Rags!") that defined urban commerce. The page documents working-class occupations that have largely disappeared, offering Puck readers recognizable street characters and their stereotyped appearances and mannerisms.