Home of L. Clarke and Rebecca Harding Davis

Rebecca Harding Davis, a novelist, and her husband, L. Clarke Davis, an editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, held a reception at their home on this site the day after Wilde’s first lecture in Philadelphia (see stop #8). The reception preceded dinner at the home of George W. Childs, co-owner of the Public Ledger. For both men of the press, access to Wilde and his image served them well. His long hair and elaborate clothing, along with the Aesthetic lilies and sunflowers he was often pictured with, were used in both mockery and marketing everywhere and on everything. Wilde was happy to have his name in print.