The Wasp — 1895 — page 905: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising** for San Francisco businesses (banks, insurance companies, breweries, patent flour). The main cartoon titled "A Serious Oversight" depicts two figures in what appears to be a domestic dispute scene. The caption reads: "Artist—The picture is even like you, but I will make any changes you may suggest. Miss Borrowed-Wealth—Well—er—you might paint in the gold fillings in my teeth." The satire targets **nouveau riche pretension**: a woman of recently acquired wealth insists the artist add visible gold dental work to her portrait, treating it as a status symbol. The joke mocks how the newly wealthy ostentatiously display their riches through gaudy personal adornment, revealing their shallow values and lack of refined taste. The woman's vanity about material possessions rather than genuine beauty is the target of ridicule.