The Wasp — 1877 — page 222: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page combines satirical commentary with poetry. The main cartoon (upper left) shows a figure riding clouds amid cherubs, likely mocking someone's inflated ego or pretensions—a common Wasp device. The text discusses local Oakland and San Francisco issues: an Oakland man's "discrimation" [sic] in marrying a blind woman; complaints about Eastern household humor being stale; and mocking criticism of a man named Otis Gibson for gathering Chinese converts to Christianity. The substantial poetry section, "Drifting in the Bay of Naples," appears unrelated to the satire and suggests the magazine balanced humor with literary content for general audiences. The overall tone targets local figures and social pretensions rather than national politics.