1964 Enovid (U.S.A.) birth-control pill package
& directions with booklet Planning Your Family
(also 1964) addressed to married women, not
single.
Pro-Fo Lactic (U.S.A., 1930-40s?) Either a
contraceptive or treatment for STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), or
both. Ointment with a bag to contain penis.
Fresca douche powder (early 20th century, U.S.A.);
the label contains language possibly hinting at contraceptive use.
See also early contraceptive sponges disguised for other uses.
Ad for Ergoapiol, treatment for painful or missing menstrual periods or
other irregularities of the menstrual cycle - or for abortion, 1904.
 
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MUSEUM OF MENSTRUATION AND WOMEN'S HEALTH
Personal: Marriage Hygiene
(leaflet) The S. E. Massengill Company, Bristol, Tenn.-Va. (U.S.A., 1920s?)
history, Massengill, leaflet, marriage, birth
control, hygiene, contraceptive, vaginal jelly, menstruation
"Marriage hygiene" usually meant birth
control and Massengill vaginal jelly "provided them [women]
with freedom from worry and anxiety" as you read in the leaflet below.
The 1873 Comstock Act in America banned sending
"obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious" materials through the mail,
including information about contraception and contraceptive itself itself.
Women had to be able to decipher advertising
to find the birth control material they needed.
Vaginal sponges stopped conception for many women when used with
an appropriate chemical just as the jelly with the unnamed ingredients did
below. See the column at left for similar ingredients
and devices.
No date exists on the material on the following pages but the typography
and style suggest the early 20th century, maybe the 1920s. A doctor founded
the company around 1898.
Read a short
article in Time magazine in 1937 about the tragedy an ingredient in
another Massengill product caused (see more
on the next page). I thank a frequent contributor
to MUM , donor of valuable information
and many items, including the cough syrup link,
next.
Now brace yourself! See a bottle of Massengill
cough syrup
from probably the early 20th century with these ingredients:
cannabis
chloroform
alcohol
morphine
and much more!
Bring on the next bout of coughing!
I thank the donor of the leaflet!
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Below: Pages (exterior) 4 & 1. Each
of the 4 pages measures 2 3/4 x 4 3/4" (7 x 11.8 cm).
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Below: Pages (interior) 2 & 3.
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1964 Enovid
(U.S.A.) birth-control pill package & directions with booklet
Planning Your Family (also 1964) addressed to
married women, not single.
Pro-Fo Lactic (U.S.A., 1930-40s?) Either a
contraceptive or treatment for STDs
(sexually transmitted diseases), or both. Ointment with a bag to contain
penis.
Fresca douche powder (early 20th century, U.S.A.);
the label contains language
possibly hinting at contraceptive use.
Egyptian hieroglyphics from about 1550 B.C.E. describing
a tampon used for contraception
© 2011 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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