{"id":152727,"date":"2015-05-26T23:27:25","date_gmt":"2015-05-26T23:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/05\/26\/msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find\/"},"modified":"2018-09-08T05:37:47","modified_gmt":"2018-09-08T05:37:47","slug":"msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/05\/26\/msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-152727 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/05\/26\/msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find\/attachment\/152728\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o1_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o1_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o1_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/05\/26\/msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find\/attachment\/152729\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o4_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o4_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o4_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/05\/26\/msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find\/attachment\/152730\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o2_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o2_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o2_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/05\/26\/msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find\/attachment\/152731\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o5_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o5_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o5_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/05\/26\/msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find\/attachment\/152732\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o3_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o3_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/tumblr_no1ifmoE6V1tq80c5o3_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><a class=\"tumblr_blog\" href=\"http:\/\/msuprovenance.tumblr.com\/post\/118455085046\/it-is-not-uncommon-to-find-threats-of-violence\" target=\"_blank\">msuprovenance<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It is not uncommon to find threats of violence, capital punishment, and divine retribution in ownership inscriptions, especially those of children in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The book curses shown here represent only a small sampling of the incantations against theft we\u2019ve come across in our extensive collection of early American textbooks. Most of the verses are formulaic, and show up in one form or another across state and national borders, spanning decades or even centuries. \u00a0They are passed down from book to book, generation to generation, in the way of most \u201cunderground\u201d folk knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>Here are transcriptions of the verses shown above. \u00a0I\u2019ve cleaned up the formatting a bit to make them easier to read.<\/p>\n<p>The first is found in <a href=\"http:\/\/catalog.lib.msu.edu\/record=b2538224~S39a\" target=\"_blank\">a 1929 textbook<\/a> on English grammar and composition:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>Do not grab this book<br \/><\/i><i>My little friend<br \/><\/i><i>Or a hangman\u2019s noose<br \/><\/i><i>Will be your end<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The second, in <a href=\"http:\/\/catalog.lib.msu.edu\/record=b3402419~S39a\" target=\"_blank\">a math text<\/a> published 100 years earlier, also promises death by hanging, but incorporates other threats as well:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>Steal not this Book my honest friend<br \/><\/i><i>For fear the gallows will be your end<br \/><\/i><i>The Lord will say on Judgement Day<br \/><\/i><i>What made you take this Book away<br \/><\/i><i>Steal not this Book for fear of life<br \/><\/i><i>For here you see the butcher knife<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The <i>life <\/i>+ <i>knife<\/i>\u00a0rhyme is a common theme, showing up in <a href=\"http:\/\/catalog.lib.msu.edu\/record=b1881215~S39a\" target=\"_blank\">this 1867 grammar book<\/a> as well:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>Steal not this book<br \/><\/i><i>For fear of your life<br \/><\/i><i>For the owner carries<br \/><\/i><i>A big jack knife<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The threat in <a href=\"http:\/\/catalog.lib.msu.edu\/record=b2552364~S39a\" target=\"_blank\">this 1847 English reader<\/a> isn\u2019t from a knife, but from something a little less deadly:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>Take not this book, you<br \/><\/i><i>Yes if you do<br \/><\/i><i>You\u2019ll feel the wate [weight?]<br \/><\/i><i>Of my old shoe<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In the final inscription, from <a href=\"http:\/\/catalog.lib.msu.edu\/record=b4841077~S39a\" target=\"_blank\">an 1821 arithmetic text<\/a>, any pretense of rhyme or meter begins to break down by the end, and the verse devolves into a direct threat of bodily harm against the would-be book thief:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>Steal not this book for fear of shame<br \/><\/i><i>For hear [sic] you\u2019ll see the owner\u2019s name<br \/><\/i><i>If you do you may expect a\u00a0<\/i><i>thumpt side of your head as\u00a0<\/i><i>hard as I can draw: and that won\u2019t be all\u00a0<\/i><i>and if I can kick your ___ I will<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Amusingly, a later reader seems to have gone over this inscription with a pencil and corrected the previous owner\u2019s spelling in several places. \u00a0It also appears that the later editor may have rubbed out an offensive word from the original.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>msuprovenance: It is not uncommon to find threats of violence, capital punishment, and divine retribution in ownership inscriptions, especially those of children in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. \u00a0 The book curses shown here represent only a small sampling of the incantations against theft we\u2019ve come across in our extensive collection of early &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2015\/05\/26\/msuprovenance-it-is-not-uncommon-to-find\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[17338,452,7187,4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152727"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152733,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152727\/revisions\/152733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}