Between Encyclopedia and Fairy Tale: The Wondrous Birds and Reptiles of 18th-Century Artist Dorothea Graff

Imagine a world of constant wars and deadly plagues, a world without eyeglasses, bicycles, or sanitation. Imagine being a gifted child in that world, knowing you are born into a body that will never be granted the basic rights of citizenship in any country, into a mind that will never be allowed to expand in any institution of higher learning.

Dorothea Maria Graff (May 13, 1678–May 5, 1743) was born into such a world.

Red-crowned crane by Dorothea Graff, early 1700s. (Available as a print.)

Thro...