John Bachmann, Sr. (Jan 31,1817–May 22, 1899) was a Swiss-born

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

and artist best known for his

bird's-eye view A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object or location from a very steep viewing angle, creating a perspective (graphical), perspective as if the observer were a bird in flight looking downward. Bird's-eye views can be an aerial photog ...

s, especially of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

lithographic Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

artist in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

until 1847. His first known American print (credited to "C Bachmann" as artist and "J Bachmann" as publisher) appeared in 1848, a view from an imagined point above Union Square in New York, looking south toward The Battery. In 1849 and 1850, he created and published a series of American views, including views of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, New York,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, which show the theater of war in six sections, each a perspective view of entire states or sets of states. Bachmann married twice, having 5 children with his first wife, 4 for whom were born in

, and one in

Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and had then four children with his second wife (Eliza), the eldest of whom, John Bachmann, Jr. also became a lithographer. Except for two brief sojourns in

, he appears to have remained in the Heights neighborhood of

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

from the late 1850s until his death in 1899. Most of his views of New York City manage to sneak in his home neighborhood in Jersey City. His last known work, a view of

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. The one other known painting by Bachmann, a version of one of his views of Philadelphia, hangs in the

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the 16th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the ...

. He immigrated to New York on 6 Nov. 1848 with his first wife and one surviving child from his first wife (Anna) on the ship Lady Arabella. Family register vol. II of Schönenberg, Switzerland (StAZH E III 106.22), on page 181

References

Sources

*Reps, John (1984) ''Views and Viewmakers of Urban America: Lithographs of Towns and Cities in the United States and Canada, notes on the artists and publishers, and a union catalog of their work, 1825 – 1925''. University of Missouri Press, 1984, particularly the biography of Bachmann, page 160. *Case, Nat (2008) "John Bachmann and the American Bird's Eye View Print", ''Imprint'', volume 33, No 2 (Autumn 2008).

External links

Panoramic Maps - Library of Congress Civil War Panoramic Views - Library of CongressArt and the empire city: New York, 1825-1861
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Bachmann (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bachmann, John 1817 births 1896 deaths American draughtsmen Swiss emigrants to the United States American lithographers