[Ads-l] Antedating of "Cakewalking"

[Shapiro, Fred]

cakewalking (OED 1875)

1873 Lancaster (Pa.) Daily Intelligencer 3 May 2/6 (Newspapers.com)  The darkies of Wrightsville, in imitation of their Columbia friends, have introduced "cake-walking" entertainments."

1873 Lynchburg (Va.) News 23 July 4/4 (Newspapers.com)  A colored correspondent of the Virginia People furnishes the following graphic report of a recent fair in Polaski county: ... A grand Colored fair taken place on 11, 12 July ... The next performance was a nice grand cake walking for pemiums [sic].

Fred Shapiro

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