Book rhyme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A book rhyme is a short poem or rhyme that was formerly printed inside the front of a book or on the flyleaf to discourage theft or to indicate ownership.
Book rhymes were fairly common in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries, but the printing of bookplates pushed them out of use.
[edit] Anti-theft warnings
One of the most common is :
- If this book you steal away,
- What will you say
- On Judgment Day?
[edit] Identification rhyme
- Everytown is my dwelling-place
- America is my nation
- John Smith is my name
The end line has several variations,
- And Christ is my salvation
- And heaven my expectation
The title of Alfred Bester's novel The Stars My Destination plays on the final line.
[edit] Sources
- Funk & Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology & Legend (Hardcover), 1972, pp156–157 ISBN 0-308-40090-9
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