The Wasp — 1895 — page 196: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon mocks the sale of European aristocratic titles to wealthy Americans. The sign advertises an "auction sale of imported goods" offering "princes, counts, lords, dukes earls etc." with "none but genuine articles handled" and "terms strictly cash." The right panel lists specific titled individuals for sale—Prince Corona (Italian), Prince Hatzfeldt (German), and Prince Poniatowski (French)—with their prices, some illegible. The cartoon criticizes the Gilded Age phenomenon where American heiresses married impoverished European nobles in exchange for titles. The satire suggests these aristocrats are commercial commodities being "auctioned" to the highest bidder, reducing European nobility to mere imported goods sold for American wealth. This reflects contemporary anxieties about money corrupting social hierarchies.