The Wasp — 1893 — page 170: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1893 San Francisco satire depicts a clash between temperance reform and the liquor industry. On the left, a closed "Kaiser Water" establishment—advertised as "the only unnatural boiled water"—appears abandoned, with a dejected figure holding empty bottles. On the right, a thriving "Sample Room" (bar) dispensing beer, wine, and whisky draws crowds of well-dressed men. The cartoon argues that San Francisco's temperance movement (represented by the failed water business) loses its battle against entrenched alcohol consumption. The contrast between the shuttered water shop and the packed saloon satirizes how prohibition efforts were unpopular or ineffective in the city, with alcohol culture proving far more appealing to the public than reformers' alternatives.