Archived Feature:
Burma Shave
Burma Shave, of Red Wing, Minnesota, is responsible for one of the most well-known advertising campaigns ever. Starting in the 1920s, they began promoting their product with sets of roadside signs featuring short, often humorous verses.
Often, the verses were intended as lighthearted safety lessons. One example is as follows: Don't Lose Your Head / to Gain a Minute / You Need Your Head / Your Brains are in it / Burma Shave
At right is reproduced the cover of a book by Frank Rowsome, Jr, The Verse by the Side of the Road, first printed in 1965. The book reprints all 600 of the original Burma Shave roadside rhymes.
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