The Wasp — 1896 — page 34: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The illustration shows two fashionably dressed women in conversation, captioned with dialogue between "Mabel" and "Violet" discussing married couples in San Francisco being "on the increase." The page's main content is a narrative piece about a San Francisco violin teacher named John McCulloch who became a grocer. The satirical point appears to be mocking McCulloch's career change and his wife's social pretensions—she allegedly objected to his modest occupation. The text includes dialogue ridiculing both his ambitions and her snobbery about working-class employment. Additional brief satirical items follow, including jokes about judges, cooks, and real estate values. The overall tone targets San Francisco's social aspirations and class consciousness during this period.