The Wasp — 1891 — page 510: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and classifieds** with a small central satirical cartoon titled "A Business-Eyed Girl" and accompanying story snippets. The main cartoon depicts two figures in profile engaged in gossip, labeled "GOSSIP." The accompanying text mocks a woman named "Mamma" and her daughter "Bobby" for mercenary attitudes toward marriage—Bobby allegedly seeks a wealthy husband primarily to acquire wedding gifts and resell them at her father's store. The satire targets **materialistic courtship practices** of the era, suggesting young women viewed marriage transactionally rather than romantically. The term "business-eyed" emphasizes cold calculation over sentiment. The page otherwise contains numerous advertisements for mining machinery, sculptors, school supplies, patent medicines, and farm implements—typical late-19th-century commercial content with no apparent political significance.