The Wasp — 1896 — page 612: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Wasp* (an illustrated weekly of the Pacific Coast) features a satirical cartoon titled "At a Nob Hill Party." The scene depicts well-dressed figures at an upper-class gathering in San Francisco's fashionable Nob Hill neighborhood. The joke's caption reads: "SHE—Do you think your wife is watching us? / HE—No. She is only seeing if I'm watching her!" This satirizes Victorian-era social anxiety among the wealthy classes, mocking the jealous surveillance that marriages involved and the performative nature of high-society gatherings. The humor relies on marital tension and the pretense of respectability within San Francisco's elite circles. The accompanying advertisement promotes *The Wasp's* special edition covering San Francisco's past and present.