The Wasp — 1889 — page 387: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains three separate satirical pieces rather than a unified cartoon: 1. **"Duel with Potatoes"** — A Kentucky anecdote about preacher Bill Bowman's fight with a desperado using potatoes as ammunition, mocking rural frontier dueling culture. 2. **"Mr. Depew's Chairs"** — The central illustrated piece shows a furniture salesman and officer discussing chairs "Sold to Chauncey M. Depew." The satire targets Chauncey Depew (a prominent railroad executive and politician) through implication that his name was used fraudulently in a furniture transaction—a dig at corporate corruption or questionable business practices. 3. **"Went Down on the Other Side"** and **"A Tough Chicken"** — Brief dialogue sketches satirizing pretension and absurdity. The magazine uses humor to critique Gilded Age business ethics and public figures.