The Wasp — 1880 — page 62: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page reproduces a theatrical script by Henry J. Byron, presented in *The Illustrated Wasp* magazine. It's not a political cartoon but rather a satirical play script mocking upper-class British society. The plot involves characters like Lord Hesketh, Sir Robert Boobleton, and Kate Vennimore at a country house setting. The satire targets the pretensions and absurdities of aristocratic life—including snobbery about ancestry ("I've no ancestors"), obsession with wealth and status, and the ridiculous conventions governing courtship and marriage among the gentry. Character names like "Boobleton" signal the comedic intent: mocking the foolishness of the wealthy elite through exaggerated dialogue and situations.