See an ancient Peruvian bowl with the image of a
menstruating vagina inside.
See how a woman wore
a belt in a Dutch ad. See a classy 1920s ad for a belt
and the first ad (1891) MUM has for a belt.
See how women wore
a belt (and in a Swedish ad).
See a modern belt
for a washable pad
and a page from the 1946-47
Sears catalog showing a great variety.
More ads for
napkin belts: Sears,
1928 - modern
belts - modern washable
- Modess, 1960s
Actual belts in the museum
And, of course, the first Tampax AND - special
for you! - the American fax tampon,
from the early 1930s, which also came in bags.
See a Modess True or
False? ad in The American Girl magazine,
January 1947, and actress Carol
Lynley in "How Shall I Tell My Daughter"
booklet ad (1955) - Modess
. . . . because ads (many dates).
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Bowl for
soaking used washable menstrual
pads, sold by New Cycle
Even after
disposable menstrual pads became
widely available in America in the
early 1920s (especially Kotex; see
an ad
from 1921
showing a confrontation about
washing pads) some women made or
bought washable pads. After wearing
one the user had to wash and dry it.
The first step was usually to soak
it in water, often in a bucket under
a sink.
The (American)
New Cycle company offered a shiny
clay pot, below, not a bucket, that
I bought in the early 1990s for
about $30. Instead of dumping the
menstrually water (it's more than
bloody) down the drain, the spout
encourages the user to water her
plants with it, blood (etc.) adding
to the nutritive powers of the
water. Hey, gardeners
sometimes use blood meal as
fertilizer.
In March, 2006, someone sent me the
following:
"About washable pads: there are
quite a few moms who have
work-at-home businesses making these
things. I find them to be far
superior to Glad Rags. This page
shows several styles: http://www.diaperware.com/mooncare/mooncare.htm
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The round opening
measures 4" in diameter (10.16 cm) and
the spout is about 2.5" (6.35 cm)
wide. The bowl stands 7" (about 17.8
cm) high.
Harry Finley took the photos.
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Look at the beautiful
crackle glaze!
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The base on the outside
bears "C Boyd" - I'm sure the potter -
and " '91." Two crescents flank a full
moon above the name.
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Above we see the
colorized name and logo on a display (here) in
the actual Museum of Menstruation in
my house from 1994-1998. Start a tour of the
actual (but closed) museum.
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See an ancient
Peruvian bowl with
the image of a menstruating vagina inside.
© 2005 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
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