The Wasp — 1888 — page 70: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This *Wasp* cartoon from July 28, 1888, depicts two women at a garden fence with flowering plants. The woman on the right, wearing a decorative hat labeled "CALIFORNIA," appears to represent the state personified. The woman on the left holds flowers, suggesting leisure or idle pursuits. The caption "Going Back to Hard Work" suggests social commentary on women's roles—likely satirizing either women returning to domestic labor after vacation, or critiquing California's transition from some period of ease back to labor. The artist, signed "WALTER," uses the contrast between decorative leisure (flowers, fashionable dress) and work to make a point about gendered expectations or California's economic circumstances circa 1888. The exact historical reference remains unclear without additional context.