The Wasp — 1895 — page 228: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is primarily a title page and editorial content rather than a cartoon page. The masthead identifies *The Wasp* as "the oldest colored cartoon paper in America" (established 1876), published in San Francisco. The editorial column discusses several topics: an upcoming American heiress's wedding to European nobility; Southern racial violence and civil rights; Methodist conference disputes over communion cups; and Prof. Holden's observatory scandal involving alleged improper conduct with a female assistant. The accompanying illustrations are decorative rather than political cartoons—showing a bear and a woman in period dress. The satire appears directed at social hypocrisy, religious disputes, and scientific misconduct rather than partisan politics.