George Frederick Keller
George Frederick Keller (1846–?) was a cartoonist active in California, known as the primary illustrator of the San Francisco satirical magazine The Wasp. George Frederick Keller was born in Prussia, he emigrated to the United States and fought in the U.S. Civil War, settling in California around 1870. He apprenticed to lithographer George Baker, where his first job was lithographing colorful cigar box labels.
Also recorded as G. Frederick Keller · George F. Keller · F. Keller
George Frederick Keller
George Frederick Keller · The Wasp (San Francisco) Volume 2, 1878 · Public domain
- Name
- George Frederick Keller
- Born
- 1846
- Birthplace
- Prussia
- Died
- after 1883
- Known for
- Cartooning
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- cartoonist
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Documentary summary
George Frederick Keller (1846–?) was a cartoonist active in California, known as the primary illustrator of the San Francisco satirical magazine The Wasp. George Frederick Keller was born in Prussia, he emigrated to the United States and fought in the U.S. Civil War, settling in California around 1870. He apprenticed to lithographer George Baker, where his first job was lithographing colorful cigar box labels.
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Note VALÉORINE
George Frederick Keller (1846–1883) was a cartoonist, of American nationality. The cartoonist was born in Prussia. George Frederick Keller worked in San Francisco. Works are held at Crocker Art Museum.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q50809195 · wikipedia · George Frederick Keller
In this article
Biography
Biography
He joined The Wasp, also founded by Prussian immigrants, with its first issue, debuting in August 1876. Some of his work reflected the anti-Chinese and anti-immigrant sentiment of late 19th-Century San Francisco in highly racialized stereotypes, depicting Chinese as rat-like invaders, Irish as Neanderthals, and Jews as hook-nosed moneylenders. Keller's final cartoon was published June 30, 1883, after which he left the San Francisco area "and was never heard from again". • Illustration — "A Liliput Kingdom For Sale Cheap" (1881), depicts King Kalākaua auctioning the Hawaiian Islands off to the highest bidder • Illustration — "What Shall We Do with Our Boys?" (1882) portrays a stereotypical Chinese worker as contributing to white American unemployment • Illustration — "The Curse of California" (1882) depicts the Southern Pacific Railroad monopoly as an octopus controlling a variety of industries
Self portrait of artist George Frederick Keller
George Frederick Keller · The Illustrated Jolly Giant (July-Dec.) 1874
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — George Frederick Keller • Born — 1846 • Birthplace — Prussia • Died — after 1883 • Known for — Cartooning • Notable Works — The Wasp
Identity
Identity
George Frederick Keller is recorded as cartoonist.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1846
George Frederick Keller born at Prussia.
1883
George Frederick Keller died.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Dawdy, Doris Ostrander. Artists of the American West: A Biographical Dictionary. Sage Books. II. 153. 1974. 0804006075.
- 2.Brechin, Gray. The Wasp: Stinging Editorials and Political Cartoons. Bancroftiana. Friends of The Bancroft Library. 121. 1+8. Fall 2002.
- 3.Olmstead, Roger. The Cigar-box Papers. California Historical Quarterly. 55. 3. 256–269. 1976. 10.2307/25157644.
- 4.Hall, Nicholas Sean. The Wasp's "Troublesome Children": Culture, Satire, and the Anti-Chinese Movement in the American West. California History. 90. 2. 42–76. 2013. 10.2307/41936500.
- 5.Taylor & Francis. The Routledge Research Companion to Law and Humanities in Nineteenth-Century America. 279–. 12 May 2017. 978-1-317-04297-6.
- 6.West, Richard Samuel. The San Francisco Wasp: An Illustrated History. Periodyssey Press. 79–80. 2004. 978-0971849440.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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