The Wasp — 1890 — page 141: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This appears to be a satirical cartoon from *The Wasp* depicting a large vulture or predatory bird labeled "CITY HALL" carrying away multiple human figures—appears to include women and children. The figures are laden with what look like bills, receipts, or financial documents. The satire critiques municipal government corruption and exploitation, suggesting City Hall functions as a predatory force extracting money from citizens through various schemes or fees. The specific labels on documents and the identities of individual figures are not clearly legible in this image. The cartoon's power lies in its visual metaphor: depicting government as a rapacious creature literally carrying away vulnerable people and their wealth. This reflects turn-of-the-century American concerns about urban corruption and municipal mismanagement, common subjects in *Wasp* satire.