Works in the Collection      Biographies

David Ross Locke was born in New York. He entered the literary world early as an apprentice printer, and soon took off on an itinerant career of journalism. As a reporter, editor, and printer, Locke worked for many publications across the U. S. He adopted the pseudonym "Rev. Petroleum Vesuvius Nasby," under which he wrote letters lampooning current politics. The Nasby letters were popular, and Abraham Lincoln is said to have read them to his Cabinet. Eventually, Locke collected his Nasby writings into various books and humorous lectures.

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Works in the EAF Collection

Divers Views, Opinions, and Prophecies of Yoors Trooly, Petroleum V. Nasby (1866) (Restricted)

Eastern Fruit on Western Dishes. The Morals of Abou Ben Adhem edited by D. R. Locke (1875) (Restricted)

Ekkoes from Kentucky. By Petroleum V. Nasby. Bein a Perfect Record uv the Ups, Downs, and Experiences uv the Dimocrisy, doorin the Eventful Year 1867, ez Seen by a Naturalized Kentuckian (1868) (Restricted)

The Nasby Papers: Letters and Sermons Containing the Views on the Topics of the Day, of Petroleum V. Nasby (1864)

The Struggles (Social, Financial and Political) of Petroleum V Nasby (1872) (Restricted)

"Swingin round the Cirkle:" By Petroleum V. Nasby. His Ideas of Men, Politics, and Things, as Set Forth in His Letters to the Public Press during the Year 1866 (1867) (Restricted)

Contemporary Biographies

From Oscar Fay Adams, A Dictionary of American Authors (1901)

From Samuel Austin Allibone, A Critical Dictionary of English Literature (1900)