The Wasp — 1877 — page 343: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts the California stock market boom and subsequent collapse, likely from the 1870s-1880s mining/railroad speculation era. **Top panel ("Stocks Up"):** Demons with bat wings oversee a counter labeled "Large Dividends Paid Here on Stocks," where eager investors trade with devil-like figures—suggesting fraud and moral corruption in stock promotion. **Bottom panel ("Stocks Down"):** The same demons now appear menacing, holding money bags labeled with dollar amounts ($100, $1,000, $10,000), while investors flee. A sign demands "Pay Your Assessments Immediately on Your Stock / $10.00 Per Share." The cartoon satirizes how investors were lured by false dividend promises, then left vulnerable to sudden stock collapses and unexpected assessment demands—a common scam in speculative mining ventures that devastated California investors.