See early tampoms Wix and B-ettes and a bunch of other earlier ones.
SEE ALSO the directory of all tampons on this site.
See some Kotex items: First ad (1921) - ad 1928 (Sears and Roebuck catalog) - Lee Miller ads (first real person in amenstrual hygiene ad, 1928) - Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday (booklet for girls, 1928, Australian edition; there are many links here to Kotex items) - Preparing for Womanhood (1920s, booklet for girls; Australian edition) - 1920s booklet in Spanish showing disposal method - box from about 1969 - "Are you in the know?" ads (Kotex) (1949)(1953)(1964)(booklet, 1956) - See more ads on the Ads for Teenagers main page
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepage | MUM address & What does MUM mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual) | asbestos | belts | bidets | founder bio | Bly, Nellie | MUM board | books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays | essay directory | extraction | facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ | founder/director biography | gynecological topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation | media coverage of MUM | menarche booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous | museum future | Norwegian menstruation exhibit | odor | olor | pad directory | patent medicine | poetry directory | products, current | puberty booklets for girls and parents | religion | Religión y menstruación | your remedies for menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety | science | Seguridad de productos para la menstruación | shame | slapping, menstrual | sponges | synchrony | tampon directory | early tampons | teen ads directory | tour of the former museum (video) | underpants & panties directory | videos, films directory | Words and expressions about menstruation | Would you stop menstruating if you could? | What did women do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.

Dale lubricated menstrual tampons (1930s-1940s?, U.S.A.)
Tampon

See the box (main page) and instructions (with a test for the tampon the user could perform herself)

The Procter & Gamble company kindly donated these tampons to the museum, part of a large gift.

 

The tampon appears out of its cellophane wrapper. I wet the right
end of it with water to see if that created a lubricant,
as
promised in the instructions
; yes, it did, even after possibly 60 years.
The water created the dark spot; the tip did not expand until I
submerged the whole tampon into the water, and then only reluctantly. But it did.
Below:  The tampon expanded to its fullest after about three
minutes in a glass of water. 



Dry string end 
 Dry front end

Left side: String end: Above: Dry and circular, and in cellophane; Below: oblong (showing two cylinders of cotton) and wet.

Right side: Business end: Above: Dry and circular, and in cellophane, above; Below: oblong and wet, showing the white lubricant, and flat.
 
Wet string end 
Wet front end

See the instructions (with a test for the tampon the user could perform herself) and box (main page).
From the 1950s to the 1970s women could buy another lubricated tampon in the U.S.A., Pursettes.
Tampon directory

© 2001 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce
or distribute any of the work on this Web site in any manner or
medium without written permission of the author.
Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org