Puck — October 23, 1878 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical illustration from Puck magazine featuring a caricatured man with exaggerated facial features pointing at various vaudeville acts and entertainment attractions displayed on panels around him. The visible titles include "The Horrors of the Dance," "The Woman Fish," "The Awful Can-Can," "The Champagne Crocodile," "That Swallows Young Men," "The Live Faro Tiger," and references to a "Drunken Hot" and "Twisted Monkey." The cartoon appears to satirize either a specific impresario or the vaudeville/entertainment industry generally, critiquing sensationalized acts and morally questionable performances popular at the time. The exaggerated caricature suggests ethnic or national stereotyping common in Puck's satirical approach. The "Rival Sunda[y]" reference at bottom appears cut off.