Puck — April 3, 1878 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes the **Moffatt Bell-Punch**, apparently a mechanical device for registering transactions. The top panel shows men in formal dress near the Capitol, with a sign advertising "Congressional Shades" (likely window coverings) and registration requirements—suggesting government corruption or hidden dealings. The bottom panels depict the bell-punch's "advantages": one shows it being used at home, another shows "A Bell-Punch for Teetotalers" (people abstaining from alcohol), suggesting the device could be ironically applied to enforce temperance or control drinking. The satire appears to mock both the mechanical device's promoters and, more broadly, government transparency efforts or prohibition-era regulation. The overall message critiques bureaucratic or regulatory excess through absurdist humor.