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The Verse by the Side of the Road : The Story of the Burma-Shave Signs and Jingles (Paperback)

by Frank Rowsome Jr. (Author) "LIKE SO MUCH ELSE, the cars too were different in those days..." (more)
Key Phrases: brushless shaving cream, advance man, Burma-Vita Company, Leonard Odell, Clinton Odell (more...)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Burma-Shave (Minnesota) by Bill Vossler
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Sunday Drives: Nostalgic Reminiscing with the Best of Burma-Shave by Michael Larson
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Product Details

Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Plume (September 1, 1979)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0452267625
ISBN-13: 978-0452267626
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #184,265 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#32 in Books > Entertainment > Humor > Limericks & Humorous Verse
#49 in Books > Entertainment > Humor > Business & Professional

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
LIKE SO MUCH ELSE, the cars too were different in those days. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
brushless shaving cream, advance man

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Burma-Vita Company, Leonard Odell, Clinton Odell, Allan Odell, George Odell, Red Wing

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Concordance | Text Stats

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 2 books:

Why Not? by Shari Low in Back Matter
About Face by Norman W. Day in Back Matter

16 books cite this book:

The Book Lover's Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature, and the Passages That Feature Them by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger on page 86, page 121, and Back Matter
Burma-Shave (Minnesota) by Bill Vossler in Front Matter, page 3, and page 8
Exit Here for Fish!: Enjoying and Conserving New Jersey's Recreational Fisheries by Glenn R. Piehler on page 2, and Back Matter
Travel Culture: Essays on What Makes Us Go by Carol Traynor Williams on page 131, and page 132
Drawing to an Inside Straight: The Legacy of an Absent Father by Jodi Varon in Back Matter

See all 16 books citing this book

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	96% buy the item featured on this page: The Verse by the Side of the Road : The Story of the Burma-Shave Signs and Jingles 4.7 out of 5 stars (11) $11.20
	3% buy Burma-Shave (Minnesota) 4.3 out of 5 stars (3) $14.95
	1% buy Lonely Planet Signspotting 2 : The World's Most Absurd Signs (Lonely Planet Signspotting) (No. 2) 4.8 out of 5 stars (9) $9.99

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating story of one of advertising's greatest triumphs, August 4, 2000

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

With the low-brow humor of "whazzzzzup" and high-speed editing of MTV-style ads dominating the landscape, it's almost hard to imagine how memorable the quaint multi-sign Burma-Shave ads were. The combination of clever verse and brilliant exposition -- stretching along the wide-open road until the punch line could be delivered -- is unlike any other ad delivery in history.

Author Frank Rowsome, Jr. tells the story of the campaign's creation and life, and provides a listing of all signs from the first in1927 ("Shave the modern way / No Brush / No Lather / No Rub-in / Big Tube 35-c Drug Stores / Burma Shave") through their last in 1963 ("Our Fortune / Is Your / Shaven Face / It's Our Best / Advertising Space / Burma-Shave"). In between is an amazingly clever collection of poems, including contest winners, shorter signs for smaller displays, spin-off tooth powder and lotion jingles, and regional ads.

Great reading for those remembering the signs as well as those who just want to get a smile from some great advertising - one of the USA's most underappreciated art forms.

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of nostalgia, March 5, 1999

By A Customer

I read this book twenty odd years ago, and I loved it. It brought back such fond childhood memories of my days on the farm in Belsano, PA, where a set of the signs stood soldier-like in the lower field of my grandad's farm. I heard from the grown-ups that someone paid him to put them there, and money was scarce in those days.

I was always intrigued by those signs, so when I saw the book advertised for the first time, it was a must-have for me. I cherished owning a complete set of the verses, most of which I'd never seen.

The book is well-written in that it has a lot of historical fact, loads of humor, and the story-telling holds your interest to the last page. One of those "can't put it down" types.

Somewhere in my travels, I've lost my copy and have mourned it's loss. Thanks to Internet, I will once again have my own cherished copy of "Verse by the Side of the Road."

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for old car buffs!, September 18, 1998

By	kniffler_pin@fwbnet.com (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

If you currently own a car built before 1965, there's a pretty good chance you remember driving past those wonderful Burma Shave signs.

How delightful those signs were as we went on Sunday drives with Mom and Dad. Here is not only the complete history of the company but also ALL of the rhymes.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A splendidly charming book
This book was a real delight for me because I remember those Burma-Shave signs on cross country road trips. A great look at a stroke of advertising genius.

Published 2 months ago by Scott Blake

5.0 out of 5 stars I found this poking around at Gramma's place
I am so glad I picked this up. I'm a fool for creative marketing, and this book is very endearing. The story of Burma-Shave and their roadside advertising is timeless. Read more

Published 11 months ago by M. Heiss

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun book for us old-timers
We've had this book for a few years and I recently ordered another as a gift for a friend in our age group (seniors). Read more

Published 15 months ago by Rhys M. Berryman

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book
This book brings back wonderful memories of my childhood travelling to Missouri to see my grandparents. Great to know these sayings have been preserved!

Published on May 30, 2007 by Dorothy L. Watts

4.0 out of 5 stars Remembering old roads
A short and decently written account of the Burma Shave phenomenon that had me, as a child from the 1940's, searching along the northwestern two-lane road sides for those pithy... Read more

Published on March 10, 2006 by Gary D. Ellison

5.0 out of 5 stars Gift to Dad
This was purchased as a gift for my Dad and he loves it.

Published on July 22, 2005 by Lori Raster

4.0 out of 5 stars I relived excellent memories of childhood travels in the car
Being raised in the midwest, and traveling through Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin where they seemed to be on the roadside every 20 miles, our family used to read them and then one of... Read more

Published on January 4, 1998

4.0 out of 5 stars delightful book - brings back a flood of memories
This book tells the story behind those great and now gone Burma-Shave signs that so many of us remember seeing along the highways from the late 1920's to the early 1960's. Read more

Published on December 2, 1997 by k7qnz1@juno.com

› See all 11 customer reviews...

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