The Wasp — 1878 — page 316: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains primarily **text content** rather than cartoons. The main illustrated element at the top shows a figure in cloud-like surroundings, captioned "Down in the month—the first swallow of boarding-house butter." The page features several **social satire columns** critiquing San Francisco institutions: the "Golden Leaf" dairy, the Grand Opera House's proposed conversion to a gymnasium, and dust problems from street cleaning. There's mockery of the City Fathers and complaints about mosquitoes and various civic incompetencies. The latter half includes **"The Old Home,"** a nostalgic poem about rural life, and **"A Spirited Cartoon"** section reviewing a published cartoon about Chinese workers in relation to capitalism. The satire targets local governance failures and urban annoyances typical of 1880s-90s San Francisco journalism.