The Wasp — 1895 — page 916: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is primarily a title/advertising page for *The Wasp*, "The Illustrated Weekly of the Pacific Coast." The main illustration shows four elegantly dressed people at a soirée (evening gathering), with a caption reading "AT THE SOIRÉE." Below, dialogue between characters named Marge and Hills suggests social satire about courtship and class: Hills brags about a count complimenting her, while Marge cynically notes the count likely pays anyone "anything—at least until he had married a rich heiress." The cartoon satirizes the social aspirations and marriage market of the 1890s wealthy elite, mocking the pursuit of titled foreigners by wealthy American women seeking status. The left sidebar contains advertising copy touting *The Wasp*'s distribution in Pacific Coast reading rooms and libraries, emphasizing its value as an advertising medium.