The Wasp — 1893 — page 418: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising and professional listings** for San Francisco services (lawyers, doctors, dentists, boarding houses). The main cartoon titled **"Woman's Perfidy"** depicts a man with a distinctive mustache displaying three expressions of emotional distress. The accompanying verse suggests he was "the proud possessor of a flowing moustache" that "in a moment of weakness he allowed the ardently expressed wish of his adored one to shave it off." The satire targets **male vanity and romantic weakness**—specifically how men surrender to women's demands, even regarding personal grooming choices they value. The three facial expressions humorously track his emotional journey from proud possession through reluctant capitulation to regretful consequence. It's a commentary on romantic compromise and masculine concession to female preference.