Details
Title Wild, John Caspar (or Canova)
Alternate title Wild, John Gaspard
Wild, Johann Gaspard
Date 1804-August 12, 1846
Description John Caspar (or Canova) Wild, a French-trained artist and lithographer, born ca. 1804 in Zurich, Switzerland and known primarily for his cityscapes and buildings, panoramas, landscapes, and "great proficiency in coloring" was active in Philadelphia between 1832 and ca. 1838. Wild trained as an artist and lithographer for approximately fifteen years in Paris before he arrived in New York City aboard the "Manchester" from Le Havre, France on August 22, 1832. Wild was in Philadelphia by the end of 1832, when he established Fenderich & Wild, a partnership with fellow Swiss lithographer, Charles Fenderich. The firm issued a portrait of the 103-year-old Sergeant Andrew Wallace that year and later printed lithographs with the imprint "Fenderich & Wild's Lithographic Press," at 215 Callowhill Street, including "Fairmount Water Works near Philadelphia," created after an 1834 gouache painting. Wild also delineated lithographs for other firms, including "The Bunch of Grapes" (1833) for Childs & Inman and "Chads Ford The Brandywine Battle Ground Where Gen. La Fayette Was Wounded Sept. 11, 1777" (1834) printed by J. F. & C. A. Watson. The latter print, promoted in an advertisement in the "Philadelphia Inquirer" on July 13, 1834, garnered him the praise, "one of the best artists in this country."
Despite these well-received lithographs, Wild relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio in the spring of 1835 with the intention of heading to Mexico. He, however, remained in Cincinnati and created city views and streetscapes before returning to Philadelphia in 1837. He probably returned to Philadelphia to work on "The Lions of Philadelphia," a project initially spearheaded by "Saturday Courier" proprietors Andrew M'Makin and Ezra Holden that would depict Philadelphia landmarks. Evolved into the seminal "Views of Philadelphia." the subscription series was issued by Wild and his partner J. B. Chevalier as opposed to the "Courier" in whose building at 72 Dock Street the partners operated. Issued in five series of four views, the first two sets, printed by John Collins, appeared in January 1838, the third set by March 1, 1838, and the fourth set, printed by Wild & Chevalier with their own press, in April 1838. The partners, although most identified with the "Views," also produced the same year: "Destruction by Fire of Pennsylvania Hall, on the Night of the 17th May, 1838"; "Girard College"; "Fairmount Waterworks"; and four panoramic views of Philadelphia from the steeple of Independence Hall to accompany the series.
Wild left Philadelphia for St. Louis most likely in the fall of 1838. He married Sarah Ann Humphreys on September 1, 1841, but their marriage ended with her premature death four months later. Wild relocated to Davenport, Iowa by the summer of 1844, where he painted and lithographed nearby townscapes and portraits. He fell ill in the spring of 1846 and passed away on August 12, 1846 at the age of forty-two.
Is part of Philadelphia on Stone Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers
References See Childs & Inman; Fenderich, Charles; Fenderich & Wild; Watson, C.A. and Watson, J. F.
Call number Philadelphia on Stone Biographical Dictionary of Lithographers
Bibliographic citation Groce & Wallace, 685
McDermott, "John Caspar Wild: Some New Facts and a Query," PMHB (October, 1959): 452.
Reps, John Caspar Wild: Painter and Printmaker of Nineteenth-Century Urban America (St. Louis, 2006).
Library Company of Philadelphia research File
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s
Peters, 401-402
Philadelphia Inquirer, July 13, 1834
Saturday Courier, August 1, 1835
Snyder, "J.C. Wild and His Philadelphia Views," PMHB (January 1853): 32.
WWWAA, 3565