- Bolton & Co. Verse:
- 206
- Full Text
- When this you see
Remember me.
- Listed on Page Number
- 281
- Sampler Worked By
- Hannah Deming
- Date of Sampler
- 1786
- Place Sampler Made
- n.p.
- Sampler Listed on Page
- 41
- Author/Publication/Country/Date
- Early Published source: Anonymous. “Posies for Rings, or Mottos for Presents,” William Hicks, Ed., The Wits Academy or, the Muses Delight. 6th Edition, London: W.Wilde, 1696. p. 150
- Notes
- Also stitched by:
Keen, Palmyra M., 1824, n.p., pg. 182
This verse seems to be drawn from common knowledge, with roots in both secular and religious traditions. Its exact origin probably does not trace back to a single source but the folk sayings of the community. The earliest published reference found was an uncredited list of phrases suggested for use in engraving mementos to one’s friends. It shows the phrase to already be in use by 1696, the sixth edition of this very popular book series of jokes and light entertainments first published in 1673. It may appear in this earlier edition but that edition does not appear online. The verse adapts and varies throughout the following centuries, although the first two lines are usually left intact. It is found commonly in folk songs, love tokens, rings, gifts, scribbled into the margins of hymnals and school books and even on to a Rolling Stones album liner in 1969.
At the same time the phrase is associated with religious meaning especially the fleeting nature of life. A close contemporary’s argument is is found in Henry Matthew’s The Communicant’s Companion, or Instructions for the right receiving of the Lord’s Supper, (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1700. p.44). Matthews quotes this familiar maxim to directly compare with the remembrance Jesus asks of his followers in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. He emphasizes it as a remembrance of a friend, asking what better friend could the reader have than Jesus. Meaning of both a friendly souvenir and moral message probably appealed to both school girl and teacher alike.