The Wasp — 1895 — page 1046: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains a landscape painting rather than a political cartoon. The artwork depicts a majestic tall redwood tree standing sentinel over a forested valley landscape, with dramatic sky and distant mountains. The image was painted by William Keith, a celebrated artist, specifically for *The Christmas Wasp* edition. The caption identifies it as "The Sentinel of the Redwoods" and notes it was "Engraved by the California Plate-Engraving Co." Rather than satire, this appears to be a genteel holiday artistic contribution—likely chosen to evoke themes of natural majesty and enduring strength, fitting for a Christmas publication. The redwood, monumental and protective, would have resonated with late-19th-century American pride in the nation's natural wonders.