The Wasp — 1889 — page 158: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts two rotund figures feasting at a table laden with food. The accompanying verse promotes eating well while emphasizing that drinking is essential—specifically "the drink for boys like us / Who can't beat to economical al." The joke appears to target working-class or immigrant men, suggesting that hearty eating alone is incomplete without alcohol consumption. The cartoon likely satirizes contemporary attitudes about masculine nutrition and drinking culture, presenting excessive eating and drinking as normal, even necessary practices. The verse's tone is promotional rather than critical, suggesting *The Wasp* may be mocking those who genuinely believed in this lifestyle philosophy, or alternatively endorsing it for their readership. The crude, jovial style reflects late 19th-century attitudes toward consumption and masculinity.