The Wasp — 1878 — page 123: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical illustration shows various scenes depicting office life and its consequences. The central image portrays multiple vignettes within bubble-like circles surrounding an office building. The cartoons appear to mock the outcomes of office work: scenes show workers engaged in various activities (some appearing to involve drinking or leisure), suggesting that office employment leads to excess and moral decline rather than honest labor. The accompanying text features a dialogue about a young man named Thomas who lost his Fourth of July celebration funds through office work, and subsequent anecdotes about office workers obtaining patent medicines and tonics—apparently satirizing both the supposed pleasures of office employment and the dubious patent-medicine industry that marketed cures for the resulting ailments. The overall point critiques office culture as morally corrupting and financially wasteful.