The Wasp — 1876 — page 214: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a title page and opening illustration for The Wasp magazine (Vol. 1, No. 22), published in San Francisco by The Wasp Co. The ornate title features decorative wasps and cherubs. Below is an illustration captioned "The San Francisco Bums Christmas Cocktail," showing three working-class men in tattered clothing gathered around a barrel marked "SIEGE" near a brick wall. One man appears to be dispensing liquid from the barrel into a cup. The cartoon satirizes urban poverty and homelessness in San Francisco, likely mocking both the destitute conditions of poor men during the economic depression of the 1870s and perhaps their desperation or resourcefulness in obtaining alcohol. The "Christmas Cocktail" reference suggests ironic commentary on holiday season inequality.