See the roughly contemporary Cashay tampon, box, instructions. (Procter & Gamble donation, 2001), and
Dale (U.S.A., 1930s?-1940s?) Tampons, box, instructions. (Procter & Gamble donation, 2001)
And, of course, the first Tampax AND - special for you! - the American fax tampon, from the early 1930s, which also came in bags.
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.

Lotus tampon, U.S.A., late 1930s-early 1940s?
Folder inside the box

I can't pinpoint the date of this tampon but Consumer Reports of September, 1945, evaluated its sister product Lotus De Luxe (Fluff Style) sanitary napkin, so Lotus existed at that time in one form. (Lotus De Luxe rated an "acceptable" mark along with familiar names like Kotex and Modess.) I suspect it existed at least in the late 1930s because of some wording on the folder in the box.

The box's color is close to Kotex blue, common for the early menstrual products, which the history of Procter & Gamble called hospital blue; Dr. Lillian Gilbreth didn't like it, as she reported to Johnson & Johnson in 1927.

The typeface almost throughout the product looks art déco to me, appropriate for the late 1930s.

The Procter & Gamble Company kindly donated this box of Lotus along with dozens of other early American menstrual devices.
Harry Finley created the scans.
 
Taking the manufacturer's invitation, I did immerse the roughly contemporary Dale tampon, which hugely expanded like the drawing above, but I didn't this tampon. The unfurled folder, as above, measures 7.1" x 3.84" (about 18 x 9.75 cm).
 
Statements like "Lotus Tampons do away with the embarrassment of old ways [pads]" and "You'll delight in the utter freedom from belts, pins and pads. No bulges . . . ." put Dale among the early tampons in their emphasis on the disadvantages of pads. Many early tampons made similar statements - no, no, you're right, not the tampons themselves, but the people who wrote the promotional copy.
NEXT
Box - tampon & bag

See the roughly contemporary Cashay and Dale tampons, and very early Tampax and fax.

© 2006 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org