The Wasp — 1896 — page 487: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising** with one satirical cartoon at the top titled "Opening of the Summer Spooning Season." The cartoon depicts couples at a riverside or lake setting among tall reeds. The caption references "Willie King" (a millionaire) proposing to a woman at a summer resort, sarcastically questioning whether she'd "demean yourself by marrying a man for his money." It mocks wealthy suitors and gold-diggers—suggesting that financial motivation drives romantic proposals among the upper classes. The satire targets the hypocrisy of wealthy romance: pretending marriage isn't about money when it obviously is. The remainder of the page contains period advertisements for champagne, tailoring, hotels, cycling, cigars, and photography services—typical late 19th/early 20th-century commercial content with no apparent satirical intent.