The Wasp — 1896 — page 150: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts two undertakers at "Digger & Shoveler Funeral Directors" discussing their business with dark humor. One undertaker, gesturing toward a globe, says: "Lord, mum," said the undertaker, "bairly, all the swell people that die now wants to be buried in big sleeves, and the size of caskets is knocking all the profits out of our business." The joke appears to mock fashionable burial practices among wealthy people—specifically, the trend of burying the dead in oversized sleeves or elaborate clothing that requires larger (more expensive) caskets. This satirizes both the vanity of the upper classes and their concern with appearances even in death. The undertakers' complaint about lost profits adds economic commentary to the social satire.