YOUR remedies for menstrual period pain and problems. See more remedies here. See modern home remedies here. Handwritten letter to a sick woman, Typed letter to a Canadian (1918), Ad from the Salt Lake Weekly Herald (1881) for Mrs. Pinkham, trade cards (flowers, girl with cat), post card of Stanford University, a bottle for Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, mending kit, booklet Stretching Your Dollar, bottles for her Blood Medicine and (just plain) Medicine, Home Talks, Private Text-Book Upon Ailments Peculiar to Women, Fruits and Candies booklet, and a modern bottle, box and instructions for her Tablets. A discussion of the letter testimonials, and their authenticity, of the Pinkham company (in a discussion of a Pursettes ad with a letter testimonial) See two letters to MUM about the ingredients of her Compound, and one about the lyrics of an English pop song, Lily the Pink, about her. Other amazing women: Nelli Bly, Dr. Marie Stopes, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson 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. The Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., maker of medicine for headaches, stomach ills, insomnia, depression, cancer, tumors, women's diseases, flatulence, fertility, menstruation, etc: British Pop Group "Scaffold" Sings "Lily the Pink," 1960s, About Lydia Pinkham Linda Semple, who works for a health board in Edinburgh, Scotland, sent this e-mail about the woman who was maybe the most famous maker of patent medicine in the U.S.A., Lydia Pinkham. By the way, Americans, especially college students, also sang funny songs about Mrs. Pinkham, part of one being at the bottom of this page: This is a wonderful site! I've added a link to it on our internal network, just to see what happens when people stumble across it. I'm sure that someone may already have told you about this, but there was a "pop" group in the 1960's in Britain called "Scaffold" whose main claim to fame was that one of them was Paul McCartney's brother and one was the Liverpool poet Roger McGough. However, they had a long-running number one hit with what most people took to be a children's song called "Lily the Pink": We'll drink a drink a drink To Lily the Pink the Pink the Pink The saviour of the human race For she invented medicinal compound Most efficacious in every case.   Mr. Frears Had sticky-out ears And it made him awful shy And so they gave him medicinal compound And now he's learning how to fly.   Brother Tony Was notably bony He would never eat his meals And so they gave him medicinal compound Now they move him round on wheels.   [Chorus]   Old Ebeneezer Thought he was Julius Caesar And so they put him in a Home Where they gave him medicinal compound And now he's Emperor of Rome.   Johnny Hammer Had a terrible ss..ss..ss..ss..ss..ss..stammer He could hardly s..s..say a word And so they gave him medicinal compound Now he's seen (but never 'eard)!   [Chorus]   Auntie Millie Ran willy-nilly When her legs, they did recede And so they rubbed on medicinal compound And now they call her Millipede.   Jennifer Eccles Had terrible freckles And the boys all called her names But she changed with medicinal compound And now he joins in all their games.   [Chorus]   Lily the Pink, she Turned to drink, she Filled up with paraffin inside and despite her medicinal compound Sadly Picca-Lily died.   Up to Heaven Her soul ascended All the church bells they did ring She took with her medicinal compound Hark the herald angels sing. (Incidentally, Picallilli is an English mustard and vegetable relish - hence the play on "pickled.") It is attributed to tradition, and arranged by McGough/McGear/Gorman which suggests that it may have had its origins in folksong. I would hazard a guess that it could have been a music hall (vaudeville) song which possibly became a children's rhyme - maybe it was a children's rhyme originally. I'll keep searching - possibly there's something in the Peter and Iona Opie [famous English collectors of children's games and song] collection. [An e-mailer wrote in January, 2008, that Shel Silverstein wrote the lyrics.] Keep up the incredible work. Yours, Linda Semple Research Assistant Public Health Lothian Health 148 Pleasance EDINBURGH EH8 9RS See "her" handwritten letter to a sick woman, Typed letter to a Canadian (1918), Ad from the Salt Lake Weekly Herald (1881) for Mrs. Pinkham, trade cards (flowers, girl with cat) - More Mrs. Pinkham (her first page) Radcliffe College, of Harvard University, has probably the largest collection of material about the Pinkham enterprise, the records of the Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Company. Part of the donation of SarahAnne Hazelwood to this museum, much of it patent medicine and old medical equipment, was a very interesting biography and study of Mrs. Pinkham's business, Female Complaints: Lydia Pinkham and the Business of Women's Medicine, by Sarah Stage. See modern home remedies here. post card of Stanford University, a bottle for Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, mending kit, booklet Stretching Your Dollar, bottles for her Blood Medicine and (just plain) Medicine, Home Talks, Private Text-Book Upon Ailments Peculiar to Women, Fruits and Candies booklet, and a modern bottle, box and instructions for her Tablets. A discussion of the letter testimonials, and their authenticity, of the Pinkham company (in a discussion of a Pursettes ad with a letter testimonial) See two letters to MUM about the ingredients of her Compound, and one about the lyrics of an English pop song, Lily the Pink, about her. Other amazing women: Nelli Bly, Dr. Marie Stopes, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson See also the patent medicine Cardui, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson's letter appealing for patients, Dr. Pierce's medicines, and Orange Blossom medicine. © 1998, 2005 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