The Wasp — 1893 — page 317: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising for San Francisco businesses** with three brief satirical stories interspersed. The main cartoons illustrate humorous anecdotes: 1. **"His Soul Was All Right"** — A story about a man donating a blue poker chip to church, claiming it's worth $5. The joke mocks both the donor's dishonesty and the pastor's gullibility. 2. **"Knowing Parsons"** — A Crusades-era anecdote about gunpowder discovery, satirizing clergy as ignorant of practical matters. 3. **"What Killed the Parrot"** — A domestic dispute story where a man trades his wife for a parrot, then claims the bird died from the wife's nagging. The illustrations show period-appropriate figures in conversation. These pieces target **clergy hypocrisy and marital discord** as recurring targets of late-19th/early-20th century American satirical humor.