The Wasp — 1888 — page 343: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and miscellaneous content** rather than political satire. The left column contains "Thrift and Humor"—brief anecdotes and jokes about everyday life (costume-making, money management, boarding house living). The center features "Mary Ann's Preparations for a Theatrical Debut"—a humorous dialogue about a woman preparing for a stage performance, with period-appropriate comic stereotypes about theatrical ambitions. The right side is dominated by **commercial advertisements**: optical services, hotels, tea and coffee merchants (DeWitt & Harris), and the Hotel Arcadia in Santa Monica. There is one small illustration of a man drinking wine, accompanying a poem about wine's medicinal effects. The page reflects late 19th-century *Wasp* content: humor aimed at working and middle-class readers, mixed with local San Francisco business advertising.