The Wasp — 1890 — page 167: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon depicts a man in formal dress smoking a pipe, contemplating a dreamlike vision rising from a table before him. The vision contains numerous figures engaged in various activities—dining, socializing, athletic pursuits, and revelry. The caption reads: "Is this a dream? Then waking would be pain! Oh, do not wake me! Let me dream again!" The satirical point appears to be commentary on nostalgia or longing for a past era of leisure and indulgence. The dreamer seems to be fantasizing about an idealized "past" of pleasure and social excess, contrasting with some implied present reality. The artist is Kingsbury (visible at bottom left). *The Wasp* was known for social and political satire, though the specific historical period referenced remains unclear from the image alone.