The Wasp — 1894 — page 491: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising** for San Francisco businesses (hotels, champagne, shoes, hardware), with one cartoon at the top. The cartoon shows a well-dressed man in a chair speaking to a woman, with plants between them. The caption reads: "He'd been there before," with dialogue suggesting the man previously visited this location (possibly a woman's home or establishment). The woman responds that she didn't see him arrive late, implying either a previous affair or clandestine visit. The satire targets **infidelity or duplicitous romantic behavior** — the joke being that the man is a repeat visitor whose prior visits went unnoticed, suggesting either habitual affairs or that the woman is being deceived about the nature of their relationship. This reflects early 20th-century comedy about romantic deception and marital indiscretion.