The Wasp — 1895 — page 395: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon mocking society figures at a dog show. The caption identifies two characters: "Cholly Pointytos" (the man on left) claims he won first prize in the puppy class, while "Miss Uptodate" (the fashionably dressed woman) responds that all his friends expected he would lose easily. The humor relies on the double meaning of "puppy"—implying Cholly himself is immature or foolish, not that he actually won a dog competition. The elaborate dress, canes, and small dogs suggest upper-class pretension being ridiculed. The satire targets fashionable society's vanity and the cattiness of social gossip, where reputation and appearance matter more than substance. The Wasp specialized in such mockery of wealthy urbanites.