The Wasp — 1891 — page 292: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon from *The Wasp* (September 26, 1891) depicts a man at a pipe organ labeled "Hill's Chromatic Organ," practicing a composition. The sheet music includes titles like "Whiskey Pie," "Tim Malady," "Ostracism," and "Carpet Bagger." The figure appears to caricature someone associated with the organ's namesake—likely a political figure of the era. The satirical point seems to be that he's "practicing" or perfecting various corrupt or unpopular political schemes (represented by the sheet music titles) like whiskey fraud and carpet-bagging carpetbaggery, as if they were musical pieces to be mastered. The cartoon satirizes political corruption and scheming through the metaphor of musical practice.