The Wasp — 1890 — page 161: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising with satirical humor pieces**, typical of late 19th-century satirical magazines. **"High Employment"** cartoon mocks employment agencies through dialogue between an agent and applicant. The agent praises "dignified employment" but reveals they need someone to make a hot-air balloon ascension—clearly dangerous work disguised as respectable. The joke satirizes deceptive hiring practices and dubious job schemes. **"Descent of Woman"** shows female figures on horseback, accompanying a poem "At Dawn." The satire appears to comment on women's changing social roles or independence (riding horses was considered bold). The page also includes period advertisements for patent medicines (kidney cure, hair tonic, microbe killer) and establishments like Tobey's Saloon—typical commercial content of the era mixed with satirical commentary on contemporary society and commercial deception.