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).
 
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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.
Procter & Gamble kindly donated the box and contents as part
of a gift of scores of menstrual products.
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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.
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Back of box
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The instructions, which are very short compared with other tampons of
the 1930s and 1940s.
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See the tampon.
© 2001 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or
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