The Wasp — 1879 — page 250: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising**, not political satire. It contains four commercial advertisements for San Francisco businesses (circa late 1800s) interspersed with one large patent medicine ad on the left. The main content is H.T. Helbold's "Compound Fluid Extract Buchu"—a purported cure-all for bladder and kidney diseases. The ad makes sweeping medical claims typical of the era's unregulated patent medicine industry, promising relief from numerous ailments including nervousness, epilepsy, and paralysis. The price listed is $1.00 per bottle. The other ads feature local merchants: Ghiodermanni (hats/clothing), S.B. Wattson & Co. (cigars/tobacco), Hertz (wines/liquors), and Gundlach (wines). These reflect San Francisco's commercial landscape of the period.