The Wasp — 1890 — page 325: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1890 Wasp page satirizes San Francisco's sporting and social scenes through three visual jokes and gossip items about prominent figures. The top cartoons mock baseball culture: a caricatured "Mother-in-law" kicks at home plate, a "Heavy batter" appears as a crude figure, and "Johnny's patent back-stop" shows padded pants—likely joking about protective equipment or someone's posterior. The text discusses Peter Jackson (a celebrated pugilist/boxer), James Corbett, and Jimmy Carroll, referencing boxing matches and the San Francisco Yacht Club. Most content concerns fundraising for a Sullivan-Jackson boxing match purse ($20,000) and club management disputes. The bottom illustration shows someone being chased by a cow, captioned "Rural Retreats"—likely mocking leisure activities of wealthy San Francisco sportsmen escaping to country properties. Overall, this combines sporting gossip with class-based humor about the city's elite.