See Kotex's first successful
tampon, Fibs; early Kotex tampon attempts;
and an early Tampax.
Tampon oddities: Sa-tips
(U.S.A.. 1930s-1940s?) Sanpax (the "x"
is overprinted with a "D" on the box) (Israel? Switzerland? 1970)
The instructions are completely in Hebrew except for one word, sanpax. Secret (U.S.A., 1930s-1940s)
 
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EZO menstrual tampons
(1930s?, U.S.A.)
Tampax's genius was the cardboard insertion device,
patented in the early 1930s. The vast majority
of 30s tampons - the first commercial ones for menstruation - had no such
applicator (Wix, for example). But EZO did! I wonder
how it avoided the Tampax patent.
I date EZO to the 1930s because of such text as "THE NEXT IDEA
IN SANITATION" (below) and the leaflet inside,
which proclaim its novelty. As with almost all early tampons it bears no
trademarks or patent numbers or information that would offer a date after
some digging. And the Los Angeles address (below) contains no postal code,
which first appeared in the early 1940s. (It's interesting that another
tampon appeared in 1930s Los Angeles, not otherwise a hotbed of menstrual
technology innovation - Hollywood, actually: Holly-Pax
. Could American film actresses have wanted a handy
- EASYO - version of what European theater performers had apparently used for decades? Hollywood actresses
don't strike me as glad to spend an evening sewing tampons.)
The box decoration also seems art deco, a style common in the late 1920s
and throughout the 1930s and into the 40s.
And the word SANITATION (on the box, below)
might be unique when used with menstrual products although sanitary
napkin of course is part of American menstrual culture. That suggests
to me that it was abandoned early, maybe for stylistic reasons.
Procter & Gamble kindly donated the box and contents as part
of a gift of scores of menstrual products.
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Below: The front and back of the beat-up
box are identical. The box measures 2 x 4 3/4 x 1 3/8" (5.2 x 12 x
3.5 cm).
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The smaller sides are also identical.
All photos @2008 Harry Finley
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Below: The bottom; the top is missing.
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NEXT leaflet | tampon
wrapped, unwrapped
Tampon oddities: Sa-tips
(U.S.A.. 1930s-1940s?). Sanpax (the "x"
is overprinted with a "D" on the box) (Israel? Switzerland? 1970)
The instructions are completely in Hebrew except for one word, sanpax. Secret (U.S.A., 1930s-1940s)
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