The Wasp — 1892 — page 556: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is primarily a **product advertisement** for cigars, not political satire. The page promotes "Lincoln's Cabinet Cigar" by M. Blaskower & Co., a San Francisco distributor. The image depicts what appears to be **Lincoln's actual Cabinet members** in a formal meeting scene, likely referencing a historical engraving. The advertisement capitalizes on Lincoln's fame and authority by associating the cigar brand with his administration. The tagline "The Best" and "Carl Upman's Famous" suggests this was a premium product leveraging Lincoln's name recognition for marketing appeal—a common 19th-century advertising practice. Without a visible publication date, the exact historical moment remains unclear, though the Civil War-era Cabinet imagery indicates post-1861 production.