The Wasp — 1890 — page 344: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page combines society gossip with two satirical cartoons. The main cartoon depicts a doctor and patient, with the joke: "Is not the moon the sun's wife, doctor?" / "Why yes, to be sure; and a very poetic notion it is! She (very languidly): 'But they are never together; may be just because they are married!'" The satire mocks both romantic notions about celestial bodies and, implicitly, married couples who spend little time together—a jab at contemporary society marriages of convenience. A second cartoon shows a festive "Society" gathering, likely satirizing San Francisco's elite social scene during summer season. The surrounding text chronicles local society activities: travel plans, engagements, and social events among the city's wealthy families—typical society column content that *The Wasp* used as a vehicle for gentle mockery of upper-class pretension.