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.
An example of a common style of identification rhyme is: 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 An example of an identification rhyme found in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) is:[2] Stephen Dedalus is my name, Ireland is my nation.
A typical example of an identification book rhyme features prominently in M.R.
James' 1925 ghost story A Warning to the Curious: Nathaniel Ager is my name and England is my nation, Seaburgh is my dwelling-place and Christ is my salvation, When I am dead and in my Grave, and all my bones are rotton, I hope the Lord will think on me when I am long forgotton.
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