Albumen stereoview portrait of 19th-century American humorist and lecturer Josh Billings by J. Gurney & Son, New York, with printed vertical imprint at left reading “Photographed and Published by J. Gurney & Son, 5th Ave. cor. 16th St., New York.” The sitter is shown in a studio setting in three-quarter view, wearing a dark coat and waistcoat with a wide shirt collar. The mount and imprint style suggest a date in the 1860s to early 1870s. Jeremiah Gurney was among the leading New York portrait photographers of the mid nineteenth century, producing studio likenesses of prominent cultural and theatrical figures as well as private clients. This example represents the firm’s standard stereoscopic portrait format intended for viewing in a stereoscope. Cream mount with rounded corners and paired albumen prints. Printed photographer’s imprint along the left margin. No subject identification is present.