The Wasp — 1896 — page 797: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising**, with one central cartoon. The main illustration depicts two well-dressed men in top hats having a conversation above a chamber pot, likely satirizing bourgeois pretension or hypocrisy—a common Wasp theme. The caption references "harmony" and "marmalade," suggesting social discord masked by polite conversation. The surrounding ads promote San Francisco businesses (breweries, bookbinders, rug companies, bath houses) typical of late 19th-century commerce. Notable is John Wieland's brewery advertisement claiming the "largest brewery on the Pacific Coast." The "Cruel Fate" and "Traveler's Tale" humor pieces are brief social comedies about divorce and commerce—reflecting period anxieties about marriage and business. The page reflects Gilded Age San Francisco commerce and satirical commentary on middle-class behavior.