The Wasp — February 7, 1880 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Cartoon Analysis: "WITH THE RI(E)NO PASSE" This satirical engraving depicts a crowd of common people gathering beneath a domed building (likely a capitol or government structure) while a figure stands elevated on scaffolding, viewing the scene through a telescope or spyglass. The caption's wordplay on "RENO PASSE" (playing on the word "passed") appears to reference something deemed outdated or obsolete. The crowd below, shown in caricatured style typical of 19th-century satire, gestures upward toward the elevated observer. The cartoon likely satirizes political detachment—how those in power (the elevated figure) observe common citizens below with distance and remove. The specific historical reference remains unclear without additional context about which issue of *The Wasp* this represents.