The Wasp — 1888 — page 83: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and commercial content** rather than political cartoons or satire. The left and center columns contain San Diego and Sacramento business advertisements (land offices, furniture makers, real estate brokers, banks, etc.). The right side advertises hotels, boarding houses, teas, and coffees available at wholesale rates, along with listings for San Francisco merchants and Los Angeles hotels. The only narrative content is a humorous anecdote titled "HE TOOK THE HINT" about Old Sam Mastin, a cobbler in Lafayette, Indiana, who frequently ejected drunk customers from his shop using colorful threats. This is light humor rather than political satire—illustrating frontier-era tavern/shop culture and the cobbler's exasperation with troublesome patrons. The page reflects *The Wasp* primarily as a commercial publication carrying paid advertisements.