See Kotex's first successful tampon,
Fibs; early Kotex
tampon attempts;
and an early Tampax.
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A.C.C. Tamponettes menstrual tampons
(1939 & earlier? The Absorbent Cotton
Company, U.S.A.)
This brand seems to be one among
many made in America in the 1930s,
possibly before commercial tampons
appeared elsewhere in the world
(see a list
of some others).
Adding "-ettes" to "tampon"
probably was intended to make the
potential buyer conscious of their
size when compared with pads,
which at this time could be two
feet long, tab to tab, and held in
place with a belt (adhesive pads
didn't appear until the early
1970s). Note the flowers on the
second box, a "feminization" (as
is the "-ettes") common with
menstrual products (see a cup
compared with a tulip,
which is apt, actually).
I find it interesting that the
second (later?) box is blue and
green, whereas the color on the
text inside is red and black.
And the typefaces of the brand
name differ in those two places, a
no-no in the world of graphic
design (which forms part of my world).
Procter & Gamble kindly
donated the boxes and contents
as part of a gift of scores of
menstrual products.
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Right
below: My guess is that
this box is older
than the one underneath
(dated 1939) because of its
improvised character: the
label glued on a plain box
(although the ends, right &
left, are missing so I can't tell
if something had been printed
there. That
seems unlikely since nothing is
printed elsewhere.).
It measures 7.5 x 3.25 x 0.83" (19
x 8.2 x 2.2 cm).
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The front of the
1939 box, above, looks just like
the back. At right is the flap.
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I found this cash register
slip (4.625" x 3", about
11.7 x 7.7 cm) in the box. I had
no idea that registers cranked out
slips as early as 1939! I dated
the box of tampons using the slip
(I hope it actually belongs to
this box, but the price is about
right for tampons at that time),
since the box bears no date,
patent information or trademark
notice. But someone did stamp Reg.
U.S. Pat. Off. on both sides of
the box (it's very faint on the
upper left side of the box,
above).
The text is a faded
purple, the shade I've seen from
mimeograph machines.
Big department
stores like Macy's often sold
menstrual products, apparently in
areas for women's clothing or
notions.
Twenty-four cents
for the box comes out to 2.4 cents
a tampon, about half what the
probably contemporary LOX tampons
cost - but those had applicators.
I think I'll
return the tampons.
There's a Macy's a few miles from
here.
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