The Wasp — 1889 — page 315: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **theatrical gossip and entertainment news**, not political satire. The masthead illustration shows "The Alcazar" — likely a theater or entertainment venue. The content covers: - Theater productions and cast changes (E.J. Buckley, various operas) - Touring shows and company movements - Performer gossip and financial disputes - Notes on Chicago's "Chaff" weekly newspaper The bottom section, "De Possum," is a humorous dialect poem about possum meat as food — using phonetic African American vernacular common to period humor. **This is entertainment journalism**, not political cartooning. The Wasp here functions as a theatrical trade publication with light cultural commentary, typical of 19th-century American satirical magazines that mixed politics with show-business coverage.