The Wasp — 1893 — page 544: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes California's supposedly superior climate. A man in striped trousers and straw hat addresses a woman holding a parasol, claiming San Francisco has "glorious" weather where "winters are like summers" and "old men reverse the order of things." The joke inverts typical gender roles and nature itself: the woman shields herself with a parasol (normally used against sun), suggesting San Francisco's winter weather is actually harsh or unpredictable—contradicting booster claims. The caption's reference to reversed natural order implies the city's climate propaganda is equally backwards. The satire mocks San Francisco's exaggerated marketing of its benign weather to attract settlers and investors, a common civic boosterism practice in 1890s California.