The Wasp — 1878 — page 188: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The main cartoon depicts a grotesque figure on a wheeled contraption loaded with parcels and packages. Based on the adjacent text about "postage stamps," this appears to satirize the U.S. Post Office's operations—specifically criticism that postage stamps are "made by eighty pretty girls in Washington." The illustration mocks postal inefficiency or corruption through exaggerated, unflattering imagery typical of 19th-century satirical cartooning. The surrounding editorial text discusses various California political issues: water rights disputes, asylum funding controversies, police force expansion, and municipal governance problems. The page primarily contains political commentary rather than sequential comic narratives, reflecting *The Wasp's* role as a vehicles for sharp social and political criticism.