The Wasp — 1892 — page 479: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes San Francisco's obsession with "champions" across various fields. The caption explains the joke: "A blooded San Francisco man having purchased the champion pointer of England, we have now the top-notchers in every line." The cartoon mocks this by depicting absurd "champions" including: - **The Champion Hoss** (expensive horse in a glass case, $150,000) - **The Champion Corpse** (body killed by a landslide) - **The Champion Dog** (winning hunting dog) - **The Champion Liar** (a con artist) - **The Champion Silurián Editor** (wrapped mummy-like figure) - **The Champion Yachtsman** and other ridiculous "winners" The satire suggests San Francisco society's shallow materialism—spending fortunes on imported status symbols while celebrating fraudsters and corpses equally. It critiques how wealth and vanity define "champions."