The Wasp — 1878 — page 336: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Wasp* is primarily a **letters-to-the-editor section** ("Answers to Correspondents"), not a political cartoon. The masthead illustration shows a figure writing at a desk—a visual metaphor for the editorial advice column. The letters address various social issues: a woman's financial exploitation while working for the Treasury Department, disputes about naming a nobleman, and concerns about Ben Wade (a historical figure, though details are unclear from this context alone). One letter discusses Wade's communication through "the spirit land," suggesting mockery of spiritualism—a popular but criticized practice in the era. The satire targets social hypocrisy, financial injustice toward women, and pseudoscientific claims rather than specific political figures or events visible here.