The Wasp — 1877 — page 322: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains two satirical illustrations accompanying a story about a train journey. The narrative involves a passenger smoking what he believes is a genuine Havana cigar, but the joke—typical of Wasp's humor—appears to center on deception and class mockery. The upper illustration shows a man smoking in a train car window, while the lower depicts what appears to be chaos or confrontation among passengers, possibly the "tall passenger" mentioned in the text who becomes irritated by the smoking. The satire likely mocks either fraudulent cigar sales, pretentious consumption of luxury goods, or working-class attempts to appear refined. The text references a story published in the magazine about a citizen whose wife was slandered, suggesting the cigar incident may serve as comedic counterpoint to more serious social commentary.