The Wasp — 1892 — page 535: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes a prominent figure identified as "Jenkins" (shown center with distinctive mustache). The caption subtitle indicates these are "the ideal and the real Jenkins from sketches on Nob Hill"—Nob Hill being San Francisco's wealthy neighborhood. The surrounding vignettes contrast Jenkins's pretensions with reality: he's depicted at fancy events ("A Swell Wedding," "Hightoned Dinner") but also shown in undignified situations ("A Real Dinner," "Official Attention," "At the Friday Night Cotillion")—fighting, fleeing, and generally behaving chaotically. The satire mocks Jenkins as a social climber attempting to maintain respectability among San Francisco's elite while repeatedly embarrassing himself through clumsy behavior and poor judgment. The "wasp" metaphor suggests he's an unwelcome pest in high society.