See early tampoms Dale, Wix and B-ettes and a bunch of other earlier ones.
See a Modess pad ad from 1928 - Compare the American "Modess . . . . because" ads, the French Modess, and the German "Freedom" (Kimberly-Clark) for teens.
See a San-Nap-Pak ad from 1945 in American Girl, the Girl Scout magazine, and a box of San-Nap-Pak tampons
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).
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepageMUM 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.

Sa-tips menstrual tampons (1930s-1940s? U.S.A.)
Box

Sa-tips (pronounced say-tips, according to the instructions, which violates rule number 3 in Dr. Lillian Gilbreth's 1927 list about names for menstrual products) painted its box red, just like Cashay tampons, something uncommon in American menstrual products, probably because of it association with blood. Heavens!

The name possibly comes from SAnitary TIPS of pads (meaning just part of the pads).

We read also maybe the shortest instructions, and with no pictures, below, I've seen for older tampons, which might indicate that these are not among the earliest. But they are still called "sanitary napkins, internal type," hinting that all - most? - women didn't know what a tampon was. Maybe illustrations would have been indelicate; these are for fastidious women, after all.

See the tampon.

Procter & Gamble kindly donated the box and contents as part of a gift of scores of menstrual products.

 

Front of box: As with many early tampons, most famously Tampax, the box and advertising bear variations of "No pins, no pads and no belts," three things that irritated women like mad.

 

Back of box

 

The instructions, which are very short compared with other tampons of the 1930s and 1940s.
See the tampon.

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