The Wasp — 1896 — page 245: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts a social interaction at a theater's stage door. A well-dressed gentleman in formal attire addresses a woman in elaborate period costume (appearing to be a performer or actress), with dialogue reading: "Will you come to supper with me, Miss Dolly? I've got plenty of money" and her response: "You need it with that face!" The satire targets wealthy male patrons who assumed they could purchase female companionship through financial display. The woman's cutting retort suggests that despite his money, his physical appearance is so unattractive he'd need substantial wealth to compensate—a joke about vanity, transactional relationships, and the social dynamics of theater culture in early 20th-century San Francisco.