The Wasp — 1896 — page 543: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising**, featuring various San Francisco businesses (breweries, laundries, typewriter companies, etc.). The central cartoon, titled **"Love at Sight,"** depicts a social scenario with dialogue. The caption reads: "Old Gentleman: 'And fellow, isn't Mrs. De Rango a grass widow?' / Young Man: 'Introduce me. I've got the hay fever.'" The joke relies on a **pun**: "grass widow" (a woman separated from her husband) sounds like it involves grass, so the young man with hay fever makes a crude innuendo—claiming proximity to her would expose him to grass, when he actually means romantic interest. This is **Victorian-era risqué humor** playing on double meanings and social pretense, typical of *The Wasp's* satirical approach to romance and propriety.