The Wasp — 1878 — page 232: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This November 1878 *Wasp* cartoon satirizes Colonel B (likely a local San Francisco political figure, though not definitively identified here) riding what appears to be a caricatured human figure as a "hobby horse"—a Victorian-era joke implying obsessive, foolish behavior. The man being ridden has exaggerated facial features and is depicted in a degrading position, suggesting the Colonel pursues this person or cause relentlessly and absurdly. The background figures and text appear to reference political or social commentary, though the specific context is unclear from this image alone. The overall message mocks the Colonel's apparently pointless, stubborn preoccupation, typical of *Wasp's* satirical style attacking San Francisco's prominent citizens and their perceived follies.