The Wasp — 1878 — page 411: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is primarily a publication masthead and subscription information page rather than a satirical cartoon page. The main text article, "Our Greatness in Crookedness," appears to critique stock market manipulation and financial fraud. It discusses how brokers and operators conduct schemes to defraud investors through false claims about mining ventures and financial instruments like "Puts and Calls" and "Golden Baskets." The article satirizes a specific case involving a "Mrs. Smith" and "Mr. Muggins," exposing how she was tricked into investing $500 in fraudulent enterprises. The piece criticizes both the perpetrators of these schemes and the broader financial system that enables such "crookedness," suggesting this represents America's dubious "greatness."