The Wasp — 1895 — page 397: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising**, not political satire. It contains numerous business advertisements for San Francisco firms from what appears to be the 1880s—including insurance companies, banks, shipping merchants, and breweries. There are two **small cartoons with humor captions** interspersed among ads: 1. **"Quite Complimentary"**: Shows a couple at a social event; the joke involves flirtation and a woman asking a man about his income, with wordplay about numbers expressing worth. 2. **"What Ailed Her"**: Depicts a doctor examining a patient; the humor concerns a woman's complaint that her tongue "should say pleasant things" but won't—suggesting marital discord or a nagging wife trope common to period humor. Both are mild domestic comedy, not political satire. The page primarily served as a revenue-generating vehicle for local business advertisements.