The Wasp — 1890 — page 501: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This *Wasp* cartoon collection satirizes public corruption and political scandal. The top panel depicts three figures at a dining table, apparently engaged in shady dealings or bribery—a common theme in Gilded Age satire attacking backroom politics. The lower section shows "Chief Crowley" ordering someone to "Come off that perch," referencing a monument labeled "Public Favor to Public Utility"—suggesting corrupt officials are being removed from positions of undeserved public trust. The figures with exaggerated features appear to represent politicians or business interests climbing over public welfare for personal gain. The cartoonist (signed "Mayer") uses grotesque caricature and visual metaphor to mock governmental and corporate corruption during an era of significant reform movements against monopolies and graft.