Billings, Josh, pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw, 1818-85, American humorist and lecturer, b. Lanesboro, Mass. After a roving life as farmer, explorer, and coal miner, he settled in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., as an auctioneer and real estate dealer. In 1860 he began to write humorous sketches and homespun philosophies in rural dialect and soon became a popular lecturer. His first collection was Josh Billings: His Sayings (1869), but his best humor was published in his annual Farmer's Allminax (1869-80).

Bibliography

See study by D. B. Kesterson (1974).

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The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.

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