The Wasp — 1878 — page 64: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This engraving satirizes the 13th Industrial Exhibition (visible in the banner). The allegorical figure of Industry or Progress—a classical female figure in armor—presides over the exhibition's contents. Below her, cherubs and workers struggle with industrial machinery and products displayed on an open book or catalog. A bear (likely representing economic hardship or labor exploitation) stands prominently, while a bee climbs a ladder toward the exhibition sign—possibly symbolizing industrious workers. The scattered machinery, including what appears to be a locomotive or industrial engine, represents the era's rapid mechanization. The overall message appears critical: beneath the grand celebration of industrial progress lies chaos, struggle, and the toil of workers and common people bearing the actual burden of industrial advancement during this period of rapid American industrialization.