On the Side of the Road: Burma Shave Signs

This morning at church Chuck Connor gave me a copy of a little paperback he had acquired at a book sale: Frank Rowsome, Jr., The Verse by the Side of the Road: The Story of the Burma-Shave Signs and Jingles with all 600 of the Roadside Rhymes Included (New York, Dutton, 1965).
It turned out to be  fascinating business history read. It is the story of one family over three generations to market a brushless shaving cream starting in the 1920s and ending with the sale of the company to Phillip-Morris in the 1960s.  Burma-Shave was named because its most important ingredients came from Burma and the Far East. But of course its success was due to a novel road sign campaign, one that ended up spanning America. I found it interesting that during the 1930s the signs were part of an overall road safety campaign. Here are some of the jingles:

 drive /with care be alive /when you /arrive.

DON'T TAKE /A CURVE /AT 60 PER /WE HATE TO LOSE /A CUSTOMER.

HARDLY A DRIVER / IS NOW ALIVE / WHO PASSED / ON HILLS / AT 75.

AT CROSSROADS /  DON'T JUST / TRUST TO LUCK / THE OTHER CAR / MAY BE A TRUCK.

ON CURVE OR HILL / IF THE COPS  / DON'T GET YOU /  MORTICIANS WILL.

HER CHARIOT /  RACED AT 80 PER /  THEY HAULED AWAY  / WHAT HAD  /  BEN HUR.