The Wasp — 1892 — page 222: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Wasp* contains multiple satirical sections rather than a single unified cartoon. **"The Local Rounder"** section mocks an Irish washerwoman confronting a uniformed officer at Market Street, who's loaded down with stolen goods. The humor targets petty crime and Irish stereotypes common in 1880s-90s San Francisco. **"From Frontier to Foyer"** satirizes Col. Farthing, a Nevada cattle rancher and opera patron whose wealth hasn't refined his manners—he's described as "slightly bow-legged" despite his refined tastes, mocking nouveau riche pretension. Other sections include school humor about Archimedes and the screw, and anecdotes about lodging-house incidents. The illustrations support these satirical vignettes targeting urban life, social climbing, and frontier crudeness.