The Wasp — 1896 — page 161: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising** for San Francisco businesses (banks, breweries, tobacco, wines, typewriters, flour). The main cartoon, titled "A Natural Choice," depicts two figures on a bicycle—a woman in fashionable dress and a portly man. The dialogue reveals social commentary about **size and marriage prospects**: - **Old Billins** (the man) asks why he'll marry "Little Johnnie" despite her small stature - **Little Johnnie** responds that if he were as large as he currently is, she wouldn't want him—implying his size makes him undesirable as a spouse The satire mocks **physical appearance and courtship standards** of the era, playing on contemporary anxieties about body size and marriageability. The bicycle setting references the "New Woman" and changing gender dynamics of the 1890s-1900s era.