See the fax tampon and the almost identical tampon Nunap sold probably about the same time, both probably made of Cellucotton, the component of Kotex. See Dale and fax tampons
See other marketing devices: Ad-design contest for menstrual products in the United Kingdom; "Your Image is Your Fortune!," Modess sales-hints booklet for stores, 1967 (U.S.A., donated by Tambrands, 1997)
See early tampoms Wix and Dale and a bunch of other earlier ones.
SEE ALSO the directory of all tampons on this site.
See some Kotex items: First ad (1921) - ad 1928 (Sears and Roebuck catalog) - Lee Miller ads (first real person in amenstrual hygiene ad, 1928) - Marjorie May's Twelfth Birthday (booklet for girls, 1928, Australian edition; there are many links here to Kotex items) - Preparing for Womanhood (1920s, booklet for girls; Australian edition) - 1920s booklet in Spanish showing disposal method - box from about 1969 - "Are you in the know?" ads (Kotex) (1949)(1953)(1964)(booklet, 1956) - See more ads on the Ads for Teenagers main page
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.

Zephies menstrual tampon (U.S.A., 1940s?)
Box

Like most early American tampons, Zephies had no applicator; Tampax early cornered the market on them.

The only hint I can find about menstruation is "when coming in contact with moisture they instantly expand and absorb an enormous amount" on the back of the box, below. It's possible this was a medical, not menstrual (like Playtex, Kotex & Tampax), tampon.

When did the tampon appear? I searched the government trademark database but found no Zephies. The typography reminds me of the 1930s and 1940s. The text on the back of the box, below, reads "to be used as an insert," which suggests women might have needed help in figuring out what they were. But the box was open when Procter & Gamble sent it to me and contained no instructions that might have shed light on its date.

The breezy name comes from the name of the company.

Like Zephies, Fax had no string or applicator; Wix came in a beautiful box that could have held candy. And see purple covering and blue string on a Tampax sound-a-like.

Procter & Gamble kindly donated the box and contents as part of a gift of scores of menstrual products.
Below: the sides of the box, which measures 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 x 1" (70 x 55 x 26 mm).
 
Below: the top flips open and gives us ungrammatical advice - but we already bought it and don't need to be persuaded!
 
 
 
Below: Borated means combined with or containing borax or boric acid - that can be poisonous. Maybe that was to make the tampons hygienic as promised on the main side of the box while doing in the tampon user (I'm sure not intentionally) since the body absorbs the chemical.
 
 
 
NEXT: the Zephies tampon. See Dale and fax tampons,
both from about this time and a Turkish imitator of Tampax. Directory of all tampons on this site.

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