The Wasp — 1878 — page 481: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents a collage of satirical sketches depicting what appears to be scenes of Italian immigration and life in San Francisco. Visible labels include "Sweet Oranges," "Siesta in the Public Parks," "Sleeping in the Streets," and "In the Golden Gate Park." The caricatures employ exaggerated facial features typical of 19th-century anti-immigrant satire, specifically targeting Italian immigrants. The sketches mock perceived Italian behaviors—street vending, public sleeping, and idleness in parks. This reflects anti-Italian sentiment common in late 1800s San Francisco, where *The Wasp* used caricature and satire to criticize Italian working-class immigrants as undesirable newcomers. The cartoon expresses nativist anxieties about immigration and cultural difference through dehumanizing visual stereotypes.