The Wasp — 1878 — page 435: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The page contains miscellaneous humorous anecdotes and brief jokes rather than political cartoons. The single illustration shows "The Very Freshest American Humor"—a figure running while holding a barrel labeled "SOBRIETY," suggesting satire about American claims to originality or morality. The text items mock various subjects: weed definitions, a horse-power steam boiler for sale, a Saratoga County official, an Edison phonograph, a Newport tradition about horns waking residents, and a Middletown girl's superstition. There are also jokes about Indian wars, false braids, and French versions of English poems. The content reflects late-19th-century American life, targeting hypocrisy, commercial absurdity, and social pretension across class and regional lines.