The Wasp — 1878 — page 237: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Wasp* consists entirely of text articles rather than cartoons. The main piece, "A Night in the Composition Room of a Great Newspaper," is a humorous essay describing the chaotic nighttime operations of the *New York Tribune's* printing department. The article satirizes the working conditions and personalities of printers, typesetters, and compositors. It depicts their colorful workplace language, interpersonal conflicts, and the pressures of meeting deadlines while handling corrections and managing the technical demands of 19th-century printing. The page also includes "Song of the Printer," a verse celebrating (somewhat ironically) the printer's craft and the challenges of typesetting work. This is primarily **workplace satire** rather than political commentary.