Title Page for "The Wonder Clock, or Four & Twenty Marvelous Tales, Being One for Each Hour of the Day" 1887 Howard Pyle American Pyle is considered the father of American illustration. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, he became interested in art and writing as a boy, studied in Philadelphia and then New York, at the Art Students League. In 1878, a drawing accepted by Harper's Weekly helped to launch his career and the artist returned to Delaware in 1880. Over the next three decades Pyle wrote and illustrated a series of now iconic works and became an influential teacher. Aware of contemporary European innovations, he skillfully adapted his style to suit a range of subjects. This design, centered on a faun entertaining animals and birds, became the title page of "The Wonder Clock," which Harper Brothers published in 1888 (see MMA 65.518.24 for a 1915 reissue).. Title Page for "The Wonder Clock, or Four & Twenty Marvelous Tales, Being One for Each Hour of the Day" 385172