Anyone remember autograph book rhymes? OK, they died out before my time, too, but I heard about them somewhere. Kids used to keep autograph books, and they would sign one another's books usually with a little sentimental or funny rhyme. The rhymes were certainly a form of folklore. For example:

Leaves may wither,
Flowers may die,
Friends may forget you
But never will I.

See this article from the Center for the Study of Children's Literature and Media at the University of Florida.

Here's another article. Here's another (Page down). Here's one that shows some humor.

Apparently it wasn't only kids. Click here to see a collection made by an Irish Republican prisoner in 1923.

Now, here's why I brought this up: it recently dawned on me that autograph book rhymes must have been the original inspiration for Burma-Shave signs. The similarities are too numerous to be a coincidence.

They are: 1. Brevity. 2. Rhythm. 3. Rhyme. 4. Content: usually advice or facetious advice. 5. The fact that autograph book rhymes were always followed by a signature, and Burma-Shave rhymes were always followed by the words "Burma-Shave" written in a fancy italic script that resembled a signature.

Maybe these similarities were obvious to the people who first saw Burma-Shave signs in 1925.

Oddly, although there are many web pages devoted to Burma-Shave signs, I have not been able to find a web site that contains a large collection of autograph-book rhymes. Each site that I have found so far gives excerpts from only one person's book. Also, I have been unable to find any explicit confirmation of my theory.

Here's my favorite Burma-Shave page, from The Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design.