The Wasp — 1896 — page 141: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertisements and business directory** for San Francisco establishments (breweries, banks, tobacco, typewriters, flour). The central cartoon, titled "Evolution of the Big Sleeve," satirizes women's fashion trends. It shows six illustrated figures displaying progressively exaggerated sleeve designs, apparently mocking the enlargement of women's sleeves as a current style obsession. The sketch-style drawings emphasize the absurdity by showing sleeves growing from modest to comically oversized proportions. The caption credits "The Wasp's fashion artist" as designer. This appears to be straightforward social satire about women's fashion excess—a common target for satirical magazines of the era—rather than political commentary. The joke relies on visual exaggeration to mock changing clothing conventions.