The Wasp — 1878 — page 207: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon from *The Wasp* depicts a frog being ejected from a doorway labeled "San Francisco" while two men in bowler hats approach from the street. The frog appears to represent Chinese immigrants or Chinese people, given the context of late 19th-century American anti-Chinese sentiment. The cartoon likely satirizes San Francisco's discriminatory exclusion policies toward Chinese residents and workers. The two approaching figures seem surprised or concerned by this expulsion. The satire appears to criticize either the city's xenophobic practices or, conversely, to mock Chinese presence—depending on the magazine's editorial stance. The exaggerated amphibian caricature was a common dehumanizing trope used in period political commentary. Without the article text or publication date visible, precise interpretation remains uncertain.