The Wasp — 1889 — page 62: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1889 *Wasp* cartoon satirizes British gold entering American trade on a "wholesale basis." The caricatured figures appear to be British merchants or financiers (depicted with exaggerated, grotesque features typical of period satirical art) presenting American industrial infrastructure—represented by the distillery and factory buildings in the background—as goods for sale. The figure on the right, dressed formally in top hat and morning coat, seems to represent British capital or commercial interests. The American flag draped over the goods suggests the cartoon criticizes foreign ownership or control of American industry and resources during this period of industrial growth. The satire protests British economic influence over American manufacturing and trade, reflecting contemporary anxieties about foreign investment in U.S. business.