The Wasp — 1887 — page 380: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising**, not editorial content or satire. It contains commercial advertisements for San Francisco businesses from what appears to be the late 1880s, including: - Furniture companies - Shipping and commission merchants - Investment bankers - Theater notices - Patent medicines (Liebig's Extract, Pennyroyal Pills) - Optical services - Coal suppliers The only visual element approaching satire is **Dr. Gibson's Dispensary advertisement**, featuring a bearded man's portrait, apparently marketing medical treatments for various ailments. This likely mocks patent medicine advertising common to the era—promising cures for vague conditions. The page reflects how satirical magazines funded operations through advertising rather than relying solely on editorial content.