See a real American douche set from the 1920s.
See also Australian douche ad
(ca. 1900) - Fresca
douche powder (U.S.A.) (date ?) - Kotique douche liquid
ad, 1974 (U.S.A.) - Liasan
(1) genital wash ad, 1980s (Germany) - Liasan (2) genital wash
ad, 1980s (Germany) - Lysol
douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Lysol douche liquid ad,
1948 (U.S.A.) - Marvel
douche liquid ad, 1928 (U.S.A.) - Midol menstrual pain
pill ad, 1938 (U.S.A.) - Midol
booklet (selections), 1959 (U.S.A.) - Mum deodorant cream ad,
1926 (U.S.A.) - Myzone
menstrual pain pill, 1952 (Australia) - Pristeen genital spray
ad, 1969 (U.S.A.) - Spalt
pain tablets, 1936 (Germany) - Sterizol douche liquid
ad, 1926 (U.S.A.) - Vionell
genital spray ad, 1970, with Cheryl Tiegs
(Germany) - Zonite
douche ad, 1928 (U.S.A.)
Vaginal hygiene in
The Intimate Side of a
Woman's Life, by Leona W. Chalmers
(1937, Pioneer Publications, Inc., Radio City,
New York), with photo of American bulb syringe
from the 1960s or 1970s.
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Pond medical (not menstrual)
tampons, U.S.A., 1910s
Ads in the Oakland [California]
Tribune
Doctors and others have used tampons
for thousands of years. A famous
mid-20th century American physician
even wrote
that "tampons used to pay the office
rent." One early example is for
contraception in an ancient Egyptian
text (here).
Any
wound or orifice needing a cylindrical
object to carry medicine did the
trick.
Why did Pond make this tampon? Maybe
to enable women to absorb vaginal
discharge or as a way to absorb
medication to treat many kinds of
ailments. Untold numbers of patent
medicines existed for people to doctor
themselves - Wampole's
vaginal cones, for example, or Mrs. Pinkham's
concoctions. And maybe women
even used them to absorb menstrual
fluid.
I suspect the product failed since a
researcher couldn't find any later
ads. It seemed to be a strictly
California product.
I thank again the retired college
teacher who has contributed so many
newspaper items for MUM!
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I put the latest
ads first because they tell
more about the product to the
consumer. But the earliest two ads, at
bottom, hint at the way the company
operated while searching for
employees. All ads are found in the Oakland [California]
Tribune.
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Below: (last box):
September 10, 1910
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Below: October 18,
1910
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© 2006 Harry Finley. It is illegal
to reproduce or distribute any of the
work on
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without written permission of the
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violations to hfinley@mum.org
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