The Wasp — 1878 — page 49: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains miscellaneous humor and anecdotes rather than a coherent political cartoon. The main illustration shows a wasp figure labeled "The Very Freshest American Humor." The content includes brief satirical definitions (e.g., "BRIDLE CHAMBERS—harness rooms") and humorous anecdotes mocking various American social types: a miserly clergyman, a Connecticut farmer, and a government bureaucrat. One sketch titled "Uncle Moses' Lesson" depicts a school superintendent named Uncle Moses who speaks in exaggerated dialect while teaching lessons about practical matters. The humor appears to derive from his folksy manner and malapropisms rather than political satire. The final story, "That Anaconda Signature," concerns a Treasury official's unsuccessful pursuit of General Spinner's autograph. Overall, this reads as light social satire targeting American provincial types and bureaucratic absurdities, rather than partisan political commentary.