The Wasp — 1887 — page 41: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical page depicts humorous mishaps from camping trips, a popular leisure activity in late 19th/early 20th-century America. The cartoon shows various exaggerated camping disasters: people being attacked by wasps (fitting for *The Wasp* magazine), arguments over provisions, failed attempts at outdoor cooking, and general chaos around tents and campfires. The satire targets the genteel middle and upper classes attempting "roughing it" in nature while maintaining their formal clothing and pretensions. The humor derives from the contrast between civilized society's expectations and camping's harsh realities—suggesting that refined urbanites were ill-equipped for outdoor life. This reflects period tensions between industrialization and romanticized nature nostalgia.