The Wasp — 1894 — page 98: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily an **advertisements section** for San Francisco theaters and entertainment venues from what appears to be the late 19th or early 20th century. The left side features a **physiognomical study** by a "Wasp Professor" analyzing Miss Fannie Liddiard of the Tivoli theater. It humorously interprets her facial features—eyebrow projection, eye fullness, cheek elevation, nostril elongation—as indicators of her character traits: literary tastes, French sophistication, love of admiration, and talent for theater. This represents period **pseudoscientific physiognomy**, a practice of "reading" personality from facial features. The satire mocks both the pseudo-science itself and theatrical self-promotion, suggesting performers' faces are analyzed like specimens to market their talents. The image is a portrait photograph of Miss Liddiard herself. The remainder consists of theater advertisements for venues like the New Alcazar, Stockwell, and Baldwin theaters.