The Wasp — 1890 — page 409: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and shipping schedules**, not political satire. The dominant content includes steamship company notices (Pacific Coast, Southern Pacific, Occidental and Oriental lines) with departure times and routes. The only cartoon visible shows a figure labeled "C.C. LINIMENT" being examined by what appears to be a doctor or medical professional, with text reading "For Catarh C.C. LINIMENT Head Never Fails It." This advertises **C.C. Liniment**, a patent medicine, using the common 19th-century marketing device of depicting medical examination or endorsement. The cartoon satirizes contemporary medical quackery—the liniment's grandiose claim ("Never Fails") and the pseudo-scientific presentation typical of patent medicine advertising of this era. The page reflects how satirical magazines funded themselves through extensive advertising.