The Wasp — 1896 — page 760: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and entertainment listings** for San Francisco theaters and businesses, dated September 1909. The visible cartoon at bottom left shows two men in conversation with the caption "SOMETHING UNHEARD OF" and dialogue: "Mr. HAM—How did your new play go last night? DRAMATIST—Great! Even the deadheads applauded." The joke satirizes theatrical audiences: typically even paying customers ("deadheads" being non-paying attendees) wouldn't applaud bad plays, so having them do so suggests the play was genuinely terrible—making the "great" reception ironically absurd. It's a light jab at theatrical quality and audience politeness norms of the era. The page itself functions mainly as a cultural directory rather than political satire.