Billings, Josh, 1818-1885

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1818

Death 1885

Biographical notes:

American writer; Josh Billings is a pseudonym for Henry W. Shaw.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to Joseph B. Gilder, 1884 Aug. 18. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 645273199

Humorist. Born Henry Wheeler Shaw.

From the description of Maxim of Josh Billings, 1885. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70980441

American humorist; pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw.

From the description of Papers of Josh Billings [manuscript], 1867-1876. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647887387

Josh Billings was born Henry Wheeler Shaw in Lanesboro, Massachusetts. His father and grandfather both had successful political careers, and he was raised in a prosperous, well-educated family. He travelled through the East and Midwest for many years, working odd jobs, before settling in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1854, with his wife, where he began submitting humorous essays to local papers, using phonetic misspellings in the manner of Artemus Ward. Their popularity led to a book of aphorisms and a lecture tour, followed by more books, including the popular Josh Billings' Farmer's Allminax. His essays, aphorisms, and sketches established him as one of the best and most successful comic writers and lecturers of his day, and he was a key figure in American humor and the rise of realism in American literature.

From the description of Josh Billings letters, circa 1867. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 71802224