The Wasp — February 7, 1880 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page combines a satirical letter ("My Dear Grandmother") with advertisements. The main cartoon depicts two elderly figures in an intimate domestic scene, illustrating the letter's social commentary. The letter, signed "Nanny," critiques California labor practices and wealthy San Francisco society. It references specific divorce cases (Mary A. Gilbert, Henry B. Houghton), labor disputes (the Berlin wool market controversy), and the Olympic Club's exclusionary policies. The satire targets both the hypocrisy of the wealthy—who exploit workers while claiming respectability—and their resistance to reform. The cartoon supports this critique, showing the gap between public propriety and private reality among San Francisco's elite. The page uses humor to expose class contradictions and social injustice in Gilded Age California.