The Wasp — 1879 — page 24: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising content** rather than editorial cartoons or satire. It contains: 1. **Left side**: A full advertisement for "Helmbold's Buchu," a patent medicine claiming to cure bladder and kidney diseases. The ad lists numerous ailments it supposedly treats and costs $1.00 per bottle. 2. **Right side**: Four separate commercial advertisements for San Francisco businesses—hat seller G. Herrmann, cigar/tobacco dealer S.B. Wattson & Co., wine merchant J. Gould, and Gundlach's famous American cable wines. The page reflects 19th-century magazine economics: satirical publications like *The Wasp* relied heavily on paid advertisements to fund operations. These ads are period-typical, featuring dubious medical claims and ornate Victorian typography.