The Wasp — 1879 — page 253: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains the magazine's humor section—a collection of brief jokes and anecdotes rather than political cartoons. The single illustration shows "The Very Freshest American Humor," depicting a wasp. The jokes target various subjects including: - **Kentucky criminal sentencing** (references a case with excessive imprisonment) - **Marriage and domestic life** (jokes about wives, husbands, and relationships) - **Military and social matters** (a soldier's lesson about carpet colors; a naval officer's body guard story) - **Clergy and religion** (a Baptist clergyman incident with a goat) The content reflects turn-of-the-century American satirical humor—mostly light social commentary on courtship, marriage dynamics, class behavior, and institutional absurdities rather than hard political satire. The jokes assume educated, middle-class readership familiar with contemporary American life.