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.
DIRECTORY of all topics (See also the SEARCH ENGINE, bottom of page.)some
 
|
 
Medical (not menstrual) tampons, U.S.A., 1890s - 1910s
In newspaper advice columns, an article, and in a
menu parody
Using the word tampon in medical advice columns in newspapers (as in
the last two texts on this page), without explanation, shows that average
reader must have been familiar with the term. But commercial tampons explicitly
for menstruation didn't appear until the early 1930s (see Tampax,
Wix and fax).
Women have probably always made their own menstrual tampons. A woman told
me that she heard from a German employer that his female relatives sewed
their own tampons around 1900.
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.
I thank again the genealogist who has contributed so many newspaper
items for these.
|
Below left: Atlanta [Georgia] Constitution,
April 21, 1894. The arrow toward the bottom of the column points to the
tampon. Below right: Trenton [New Jersey] Evening
News, November 17, 1897. The tampon is about in the middle of the menu.
|
|
|
Below: Trenton [New Jersey] Evening
News, May 11, 1921.
|
 |
Below: Trenton [New Jersey] Evening
News, March 6, 1920.
|
 |
See the short-lived Pond medical tampon from
1910 - Tampax tampon from the early 1930s - Main
Tampax patent - Ad
from 1936 - World War II Tampax sign
© 2006 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
|
|
