The Wasp — 1892 — page 53: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains three separate articles with one illustration labeled "Sights of a Great City." The illustration shows two figures on a street—one appears to be a skeleton or death figure, the other a well-dressed person. The dialogue reads: "Eastern Tourist—What's the excitement up in that house—a fire? San Francisco Friend—Oh, no—a famine. That's one of our massage conservatories, and business is bad in the holidays." The satire mocks San Francisco's "massage conservatories" (establishments of questionable legitimacy, likely fronts for prostitution). The joke equates their slow business during holidays to a "famine," treating these dubious establishments as normal commercial enterprises. The skeleton figure suggests death or decay, reinforcing The Wasp's satirical critique of such businesses operating openly in the city.