The Wasp — 1896 — page 102: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts **C.P. Huntington** (right, holding a palette) as an "artist" presenting a portrait to the "Poe of the Octopus"—**Adolph Sutro** (the large bearded face dominating the canvas). The caption explains Huntington drew this for presentation to the Kentucky Legislature. The satire mocks Sutro's grandiose business ventures in San Francisco. The canvas overflows with advertisements for Sutro's attractions: trained snakes, beer gardens, bicycles, tin types, and other enterprises. The joke suggests Huntington is literally painting Sutro as a huckster exploiting every possible attraction for profit—an "octopus" spreading tentacles into numerous commercial ventures. The cartoon ridicules Sutro's self-promotion and commercial empire as absurdly overextended.