The Wasp — 1889 — page 136: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon from *The Wasp* depicts a butcher or market vendor with an exaggerated, menacing face playing a flute or pipe. He's dressed in butcher's whites and appears to be "charming" or controlling a goat and sheep—livestock typically associated with a meat market. The caption references "Spring Valley Market" and mentions "a sheep lot, too." The satirical point likely critiques either the vendor's business practices (possibly unfair pricing or quality), the Spring Valley Market itself, or uses the "snake charmer" imagery to suggest manipulation or deception in market dealings. The caricatured features may target a specific San Francisco merchant or market operator of the era, though the individual isn't identified here.