The Wasp — 1894 — page 382: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon mocks a man identified as "Baldwin" who faces financial ruin. The illustration shows him being confronted by well-dressed women (likely creditors or society figures) demanding payment for a spring suit costing $75,000—an absurdly exorbitant sum meant to emphasize the joke. The caption indicates Baldwin's lawyers "are the tailors who construct the suits," suggesting he's entangled in costly legal disputes (possibly related to forbidden fruit or moral transgression, per the verse). The accompanying verses imply Baldwin faces humiliating financial consequences, including references to Easter Sunday fashion and his inability to pay, positioning him as a cautionary figure of ruined wealth and social embarrassment among San Francisco's upper class.