The Wasp — 1877 — page 168: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1877 *San Francisco Illustrated Wasp* cartoon satirizes European political leaders as brutal "wholesale butchers." The two panels show grotesque caricatures of what appear to be European statesmen, depicted as violent butchers wielding large cleavers over small, cowering figures (likely representing common people or conquered populations). The satire critiques the violent political machinations and imperialist ambitions of European powers during this period. The "wholesale" reference suggests large-scale, industrial-level oppression or warfare. Without clearer identifying features or labels, the specific leaders remain unclear, though the cartoon likely responds to contemporary European conflicts or imperial expansion that San Francisco readers would recognize.