The Wasp — 1895 — page 795: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising content** for San Francisco businesses, with one central cartoon illustration titled "A Novel Life-Belt" credited to California Photo-Engraving Co. The cartoon depicts a **cyclist in distress**, surrounded by sketches showing someone falling from or struggling with a bicycle. The "life-belt" appears to be a humorous safety device—likely a visual pun playing on the term "life-belt" (a safety device for water) applied absurdly to cycling mishaps. The joke satirizes the **dangers of bicycle riding**, a relatively new and popular activity in the 1890s. The illustration suggests that cyclists needed emergency "rescue" equipment, mocking both the bicycle craze and the mishaps riders frequently experienced. The page otherwise consists of San Francisco business directory listings and advertisements for breweries, banks, and patent medicines.