The Wasp — 1894 — page 361: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains satirical commentary on San Francisco politics and society circa the 1880s-1890s. The main cartoon depicts a man on horseback with dogs in marshland, illustrating a humorous anecdote about J. Talbot Clifton, a British horseman who won a gentlemen's race at Burlingame. The text sections mock local political figures and situations: Republican and Democratic party maneuvering before an upcoming state convention; a quip about John Daggett (a candidate for Miss) losing a leg in the Confederate War; and commentary on gun salesmen promoting fly-fishing tournament equipment. The humor relies on readers' familiarity with local San Francisco personalities and politics of the period. The tone is gossipy, irreverent, and aimed at the city's elite and political establishment.