The Wasp — 1889 — page 176: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is **primarily advertising and theater listings** for San Francisco venues and products (Pacific Bank, Epps's Cocoa, sewing machines, etc.), dated 1863 based on the "ORGANIZED 1863" header. The left column contains a **satirical poem about "Nicholas Pennysnykle as a Journalist."** The verses mock Pennysnykle—described as a "reg'lar angel" but also the "stupidest, dumbest, most eternally...incompetent" journalist. The satire ridicules his incompetence through incidents like being "peppered by a huffy milk inspector" and nearly drowned by a butcher, suggesting he was a real (though clearly inept) local journalist whose blunders were notorious enough for public mockery in The Wasp. The poem's humor relies on contrast between his self-important ambitions and his actual failures.