The Wasp — May 8, 1880 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "1878-79 Overbearing Bulls and Bears" This financial satire depicts stock market speculation during 1878-79. The caricatured figures—appearing as anthropomorphic bears and bulls in formal dress—represent speculators at the Merchants Exchange. They carry bags of money labeled with dollar amounts ($15,000, $10, etc.), satirizing their aggressive trading activities. The "Money Loaned on Stocks" sign references margin lending, where brokers lend funds for stock purchases. The cartoon criticizes the era's speculative excess and financial recklessness. "Bulls" (those betting prices would rise) and "bears" (betting prices would fall) are shown as greedy, overzealous traders dominating the exchange. The composition suggests chaos and excess—exactly the kind of market volatility and speculation that concerned 19th-century satirists and reform-minded observers.