The Wasp — 1877 — page 111: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical comic strip mocks the Lick secondhand shoe store through four scenes depicting deception and poor quality. **The joke:** The storefront displays only the heads of shoes ("Can't you see them heads behind?"), implying customers can't view actual merchandise. When a man named Mike inquires about standing there "all day," he's told the shoes are so defective they'd need a century to sell—or alternatively, that Aunt Eliza's cleaning efforts take weeks but yield no results. **The satire:** The strip ridicules the store's deceptive display practices and the worthlessness of its goods. The repeated emphasis on things being "beautiful" yet "cheap" undercuts itself, suggesting false advertising. This appears designed to discourage readers from patronizing the Lick store through humorous exposure of its questionable business practices.