The Wasp — 1895 — page 432: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

**Top Image - "The Sensation of the Week":** This depicts the San Francisco Police Department's new "Finest" parade on Van Ness Avenue. The caption notes they're showing off new helmets and uniforms. The inset cartoon mocks this display—showing a man (labeled "Captain Dougal") surrounded by fashionable women, suggesting the police are more interested in public spectacle and impressing observers than actual law enforcement. The satire critiques vanity in municipal government. **Bottom Comic - "The Age of Progress":** This contrasts old and new transportation. It mocks the "safety bicycle" as progress, showing women awkwardly balancing on tricycles—their long dresses creating comic chaos. The text humorously notes safety bicycles' "immense advantages" over old tricycles, satirizing technology that merely reshuffles problems rather than solving them. The joke targets both cycling fads and exaggerated claims of progress.