The Wasp — 1881 — page 76: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **editorial and advertising content**, not a political cartoon. The left column, "Our Free Library," discusses San Francisco's public library system—praising its role in providing access to books and intellectual resources while critiquing some organizational challenges. The author argues libraries are essential institutions for promoting civilization and combating "hollow mockery." The right side features **"Wasp's Improved Webster"**—a humorous dictionary of ten-cent doses defining slang and colloquial terms (Pulpit, Punk, Punctuality, etc.) with small accompanying illustrations. This satirizes contemporary speech and social types rather than targeting specific political figures or events. The page reflects general 19th-century concerns about public education and social manners rather than immediate political satire.