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Menstrual napkin belts and pads from the 1902 and 1908 Sears, Roebuck catalogs (U.S.A.)
Actual belts in the museum Underpants (directory of all on this site):
Early 20th-century Japanese ads from publications - open-crotch drawers, 1890s (U.S.A., from MUM collection) - Modess "Sanitary Shield" (two-band pad holder in crotch; 1970s; U.S.A.) - SheShells bikini (snap open at sides; no special crotch; possibly for menstrual pads or tampons, 1970s, U.S.A.)
See Kotex ad with a man and no woman from the Netherlands
Compare the American "Modess, because . . ." ads, a French Modess ad, a French ad featuring just a man!, and ads for teens.
See 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
Ads for the Kotex stick tampon (U.S.A., 1970s) - a Japanese stick tampon from the 1970s.
Early commercial tampons - Rely tampon - Meds tampon (Modess)
DIRECTORY of all topics (See also the SEARCH ENGINE, bottom of page.)
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepage | LIST OF ALL TOPICS | MUM 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.

Menstrual napkin belts, pads & sanitary aprons from the 1909 & 1916 John M. Smyth, and 1930 Savage, catalogs (U.S.A.)

These pages resemble those of the Butler Bros. catalogs and might carry the same items.

These catalogs could be huge; the page below is numbered 1110, from catalog #64.

Menstruation was big business in 1916. In America, women could buy commercial menstrual belts at least by 1891 (see the Jordan, Marsh & Co. catalog). Before that time, women probably made their own menstrual gear based on patterns handed down from mother to daughter or from the many books advising women how to run a household (see a German pattern), the chief occupation of middle-class women. Or they simply used old rags or other absorbent material - or used nothing at all, but bled into their clothing.

The names are similar but this is not the Johnson Smith & Co., which sold whoopee cushions, chameleons and other things little boys liked, among others.

See washable pads and ads for them, early Kotex, "sanitary underpants & panties" and more belts.

I thank again the generous contributor from Oregon for these scans!


Below: Compare these items from the 1909 Smyth catalog (Catalog No. 64, page 1110) with those from the Butler Bros. catalogs.
Servitte (maybe misspelled) might refer to serviette, a common early name for menstrual napkins. Serviette comes from French and today means table napkin, mainly in the U.K. People in the U.K. usually call them towels today. See more words used in menstruation.

NEXT Smyth 1916 - Savage catalog: 1930 | See excerpts from the Butler Bros. catalogs, 1916-30 | Menstrual napkin belts and pads from the 1902 and 1908 Sears, Roebuck catalogs (U.S.A.) - Actual belts in the museum Underpants (directory of all on this site): Early 20th-century Japanese ads from publications See how women wore a belt (and in a Swedish ad) - many real modern American belts.

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© 2007 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