The Wasp — 1890 — page 245: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains society gossip, advice columns, and a sketch titled "Our Amateur Photographers' Contest: 'Waiting for the Show.'" The sketch depicts five children sitting in a row, apparently waiting—the caption suggests they're waiting to see a performance or exhibition. The main content includes Mrs. Graham's advertisement for "Cucumber and Elder Flower Cream," a cosmetic product claiming to improve skin without being merely cosmetic. The page also features romantic fiction about a young woman at the beach troubled by a distant suitor, and a brief editorial joke about the Union Iron Works distributing money among workers—the editor skeptically notes this claim appears only in The Wasp and nowhere else. The tone is typical of period satirical magazines: mixing commercial advertisements, romantic melodrama, and gentle social mockery.