The Wasp — 1893 — page 348: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising** for San Francisco theaters and amusements (New California Theatre, Stockwell's Theatre, Baldwin Theatre, etc.), interspersed with two prose columns. The illustrated column titled "The Old Maid's Diary" features a satirical commentary on women's fashion and social behavior. The cartoon depicts an elderly woman examining her wardrobe, accompanying text that mocks women concealing sachet powder in their garments to mask odors—satirizing both vanity and poor hygiene among society women. The piece suggests women use such "devices" to attract gentlemen, poking fun at feminine deception and social pretension common to the era. The tone is typical of Gilded Age satirical humor targeting women's perceived frivolousness and artifice.