The Wasp — 1892 — page 425: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical engraving depicts a moral/political allegory titled "The Ladder to Heaven." A man on the left climbs a ladder toward divine light, while a woman in religious dress stands on the right. The ladder appears labeled "PURGATORIAL FLAME" (though partially obscured). At the base lie scattered documents labeled "DEEDS" and what appears to be "SERMON," suggesting criticism of religious hypocrisy—the gap between preached morality and actual conduct. The cartoon likely satirizes 19th-century American religiosity and institutional religion, suggesting that climbing toward heaven through institutional means (represented by the woman, possibly clergy) involves suffering ("purgatorial flame") rather than genuine virtue. Without clearer OCR text or specific historical context, the precise political targets remain unclear.