Burma-Shave - Examples

Examples

The complete list of the 600 or so known sets of signs is listed in Sunday Drives and in the last part of The Verse by the Side of the Road. The content of the earliest signs is lost, but it is believed that the first recorded signs, for 1927 and soon after, are close to the originals. The first ones were prosaic advertisements. Generally the signs were printed with all capital letters. The style shown below is for readability:

• Shave the modern way / No brush / No lather / No rub-in / Big tube 35 cents - Drug stores / Burma-Shave

As early as 1928, the writers were displaying a puckish sense of humor:

• Takes the "H" out of shave / Makes it save / Saves complexion / Saves time and money / No brush - no lather / Burma-Shave

In 1929, the prosaic ads began to be replaced by actual verses on four signs, with the fifth sign merely a filler for the sixth:

• Every shaver / Now can snore / Six more minutes / Than before / By using / Burma-Shave
• Your shaving brush / Has had its day / So why not / Shave the modern way / With / Burma-Shave

Previously there were only two to four sets of signs per year. 1930 saw major growth in the company, and 19 sets of signs were produced. The writers recycled a previous joke. They continued to ridicule the "old" style of shaving. And they began to appeal to the wives as well:

• Cheer up face / The war is past / The "H" is out / Of shave / At last / Burma-Shave
• Shaving brushes / You'll soon see 'em / On the shelf / In some / Museum / Burma-Shave
• Does your husband / Misbehave / Grunt and grumble / Rant and rave / Shoot the brute some / Burma-Shave

In 1931, the writers began to reveal a "cringe factor" side to their creativity, which would increase over time:

• No matter / How you slice it / It's still your face / Be humane / Use / Burma-Shave

In 1932, the company recognized the popularity of the signs with a self-referencing gimmick:

• Free / Illustrated / Jingle book / In every / Package / Burma-Shave
• A shave / That's real / No cuts to heal / A soothing / Velvet after-feel / Burma-Shave

In 1935, the first known appearance of a road safety message appeared, combined with a punning sales pitch:

• Train approaching / Whistle squealing / Stop / Avoid that run-down feeling / Burma-Shave
• Keep well / To the right / Of the oncoming car / Get your close shaves / From the half pound jar / Burma-Shave

Safety messages began to increase in 1939, as these examples show. (The first of the three is a parody of "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.)

• Hardly a driver / Is now alive / Who passed / On hills / At 75 / Burma-Shave
• Past / Schoolhouses / Take it slow / Let the little / Shavers grow / Burma-Shave
• If you dislike / Big traffic fines / Slow down / Till you / Can read these signs / Burma-Shave

In 1939 and subsequent years, demise of the signs was foreshadowed, as busy roadways approaching larger cities featured shortened versions of the slogans on one, two, or three signs — the exact count is not recorded. The puns include a play on the Maxwell House Coffee slogan, standard puns, and yet another reference to the "H" joke:

• Good to the last strop
• Covers a multitude of chins
• Takes the "H" out of shaving

The war years found the company recycling a lot of their old signs, with new ones mostly focusing on World War II "propaganda":

• Let's make Hitler / And Hirohito / Feel as bad / as Old Benito / Buy War Bonds / Burma-Shave
• Slap / The Jap / With / Iron / Scrap / Burma-Shave

1963 was the last year for the signs, most of which were repeats, including the final slogan, which had first appeared in 1953:

• Our fortune / Is your / Shaven face / It's our best / Advertising space / Burma-Shave

Possibly the ultimate in self-referencing signs, leaving out the product name. This one also adorns the cover of the book:

• If you / Don't know / Whose signs / These are / You can't have / Driven very far