The Wasp — 1879 — page 647: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **editorial text** about quarantine procedures and ship inspections, with an **advertisement for Muller the Optician** at bottom right featuring a caricatured face. The main article discusses the City and County Hospital's role in quarantine enforcement, focusing on a case involving the *City of Pekin* steamer returning from Tokyo with a suspected smallpox case. The text criticizes bureaucratic inefficiency and conflicting health authority jurisdiction. The **Muller caricature** shows an exaggerated bearded face—likely a proprietor caricature typical of period advertising. The accompanying text humorously contrasts Muller's reliability with the quarantine officials' incompetence: "The Wasp, my wife—Captain Morse is the finest gentleman I have met on our travels." This appears to be **satirical criticism of public health administration** rather than political cartooning.