Description

Nellie Blanchan de Graff, Mrs. Doubleday (1865-1918) was a United States scientific historian and nature writer who wrote books on gardening and birds using the penname Neltje Blanchan. Her work is known for its synthesis of scientific interest with poetic phrasing. She was born in Chicago to Liverius de Graff and Alice Fair. She was educated at St. John's in New York City and Misses Masters' School in Dobbs Ferry, New York. She married Frank Nelson Doubleday in 1886. They had two sons and one daughter: Felix Doubleday (adopted), Nelson Doubleday (1889-1949) and Dorothy Doubleday. Some of her papers (1914-1918) are in the Frank N. Doubleday and Nelson Doubleday Collection at the Princeton University Library. There is a Neltje Blanchan Literary Award given by the Wyoming Arts Council, which is given annually to "a writer whose work, in any genre, is inspired by nature". Her works include: Bird Neighbors (1897), Nature's Garden (1900), Birds Every Child Should Know (1907) and The American Flower Garden with Leonard Barron (1868-1938) (1909).