The Wasp — 1894 — page 125: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts two well-dressed men in formal attire (top hats and coats) appearing to conduct some kind of nighttime transaction or encounter. Based on the caption "A Nightly Local Happening" and the suggestive body language, this appears to satirize San Francisco's urban vice or illicit street activity—likely solicitation or prostitution that occurred openly in the city at night. The cartoon's placement alongside advertisements and other content suggests *The Wasp* was commenting on visible social problems in San Francisco's entertainment and red-light districts. The formal dress of the figures may indicate the satire extends to respectable citizens engaging in or facilitating such activities, suggesting hypocrisy among the city's supposedly genteel class.