author
Phebe Westcott Humphreys
d. 1939
A lively early-20th-century writer who moved easily between children’s books, journalism, photography, and garden writing. Her work is especially remembered for bringing a practical eye and a traveler’s curiosity to American landscapes and outdoor design.
1 Audiobook
A Natural History for Young People: Our Animal Friends in Their Native Homes including mammals, birds and fishes
by Phebe Westcott Humphreys
About the author
Phebe Westcott Humphreys (January 28, 1864 – June 17, 1939) was an American journalist, horticulturist, photographer, and author of both children’s books and nonfiction. She is associated with a wide range of subjects, from animals and travel to gardens and landscape design, which gives her writing an unusually broad, observant feel.
She is best known today for books such as The Practical Book of Garden Architecture and for her interest in how people shape outdoor spaces. Sources also describe her as an early advocate of botanical exploration by car, a detail that fits the curious, on-the-move perspective found in much of her work.
For readers coming to her through older books, Humphreys stands out as a versatile author whose interests crossed nature, travel, and domestic beauty. That mix makes her bibliography appealing not only to young readers, but also to anyone interested in early American writing about gardens, places, and the natural world.