The Wasp — 1895 — page 116: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes voter registration practices and housing discrimination targeting female voters in early 20th-century San Francisco. The sign advertises a "centrally located family house" offering "special inducements to piece clubs"—apparently targeting women registering to vote in the 32nd Precinct. The satire appears to mock how proprietors of hotels or boarding houses were attempting to influence female voter registration by offering lodging deals. The cartoon suggests this practice was either corrupting the voting process or exploitative of women voters seeking affordable housing. The illustration shows a woman with a baby carriage approaching the establishment while a man gestures toward it, likely depicting the manipulation being satirized. The piece critiques how commercial interests were capitalizing on newly enfranchised female voters' practical needs.