The Wasp — 1880 — page 303: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical engraving depicting **militarism and war profiteering**. A large, menacing military figure—wearing elaborate armor, a death's-head mask, and carrying arrows—looms over a battlefield scattered with weapons, cannons, and military equipment. In the foreground, an elderly man (possibly representing a statesman or older generation) examines the weapons with apparent interest or complicity. In the background, armies and supply wagons advance across a landscape. The satire critiques how **military expansion and weapons manufacturing benefit certain powerful interests**, while ordinary people and resources are consumed by warfare. The death imagery on the central figure emphasizes war's destructive nature. The title fragment "In the Old" (likely "In the Old World" or similar) suggests this commentary on established European militarism. The work appears critical of imperial military ambitions.