The Wasp — 1896 — page 214: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is primarily a **title/contents page** for *The Wasp*, "The Illustrated Weekly of the Pacific Coast," featuring subscription information and one central cartoon titled "Tripping the Trolley." The cartoon depicts a well-dressed couple at what appears to be a **trolley car or exhibition**. The caption references "Old Maid's Diary" (page 8) and jokes about a "Brown scandal" making them behave indiscreetly. The satire appears to mock **social pretense**—respectable people compromised by scandal acting inappropriately in public. The illustration style and 1896 dating place this in the **Gilded Age**, when electric trolleys were modern technology and social scandals were frequent fodder for satirical magazines targeting Pacific Coast readers.