The Wasp — 1895 — page 224: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and directory content** for San Francisco businesses, circa 1880s-1890s (based on the "Gold Medal Paris Exposition, 1889" reference). The single illustration shows **two women in Victorian-era dress** with an exaggerated, comedic style typical of period satirical magazines. The caption reads "MILDRED—Charley called last evening and told me a Ghost story that frightened me nearly to death" and "KATE—Did you scream of faint?" "MILDRED—Worse than that: I had to ask him to turn up the gas." **The joke**: The humor relies on the period convention that women were expected to be helplessly frightened by ghost stories, but here the woman's actual concern is practical—she needs better lighting. It satirizes both Victorian femininity and dated courtship rituals through absurdist domesticity. The rest of the page consists of hotel, restaurant, and business advertisements with no apparent political content.