Nasby, Petroleum Vesuvius (1833-1888), was the pen name of David Ross Locke, a popular American humorist. Locke strongly supported temperance (avoidance of alcoholic beverages), abolition of slavery, women’s rights, and integrity in government. He presented Nasby as a scoundrel who displayed the prejudices and excesses Locke himself opposed. Locke wrote many satirical letters as Nasby and also impersonated the character in lectures. The Nasby letters feature the comic misspellings and ungrammatical sentences that were popular among humorists of the day.
Locke was born on Sept. 20, 1833, in Vestal, New York. His first Nasby letter was published in 1862. Nasby’s writings were collected in The Nasby Papers (1864), Swingin’ Round the Cirkle (1866), and Nasby in Exile (1882). His other works include poetry, plays, and novels. Locke died on Feb. 15, 1888.
