The Wasp — 1879 — page 816: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Illustrated Wasp* presents a theatrical script titled "Paul Arniff at the Baldwin Theatre," structured as a multi-tableau play script rather than a visual cartoon. The content appears to be **political satire presented as drama**, mocking what seems to be a public figure or society scandal. The tableaux depict scenes involving a character named Paul Arniff, a Countess, Baron, and Princess, with references to the Orloff family history and mysterious circumstances surrounding Paul's character. Without additional historical context about who Paul Arniff was or what specific 1880s event this references, the exact political target remains unclear. However, the format—disguising pointed social criticism as a theatrical script—was a common *Wasp* technique for satirizing prominent individuals while maintaining legal plausible deniability.