See Kotex's first successful
tampon, Fibs; early Kotex tampon attempts;
and an early Tampax.
 
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A.C.C. Tamponettes menstrual tampons
(1939, The Absorbent Cotton Company, U.S.A.)
Instructions
The explanatory leaflet in the packaging, below, mentions that tampons
"have been in use in European countries for over
thirty years." To the best of my knowledge these were not commercial
tampons but homemade. Dr. Robert Dickinson
mentions many American women making their own
tampons in 1942.
A site visitor told me that a well-known German man she once worked
for in America told her that his mother had made her own tampons, sewing
them at home, in late 19th-century or early 20th-century Germany. Americans
I believe introduced commercial tampons to Europe, and before World War
II (Tampax; see three 1938 Dutch ads), the first
indigenous brand being (I think) the German o.b. ("ohne
Binde," "without a pad" - see
a German folder from the early 1950s). Tambrands
gave this museum a box of Tampax in French and dated the box to the late
1930s.
The text (below) also says, "In the theatrical
profession tampons have long been a necessity but have been mostly of home-made
construction . . . ." Compare this to what the authors of Zur Geschichte der Unterwäsche 1700-1960 (discussion) write about early menstrual protection
in Germany, that virtually only those in the theater used such protection
before roughly 1900 (they mention close-fitting pads and sponges, but not
tampons).
"[M]ostly of home-made construction" might indicate that the
only other tampons were medical ones that doctors used. Or were there commercial
ones before the earliest American ones from the 1930s (see some
the museum has)?
Procter & Gamble kindly donated the box and contents as part
of a gift of scores of menstrual products.
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Below: The opened introductory leaflet
(it folds in half heightwise) measures 7 1/8 x 6 1/4" (18.1 x 15.9
cm).
Fear of blocking the menstrual flow is an old concern
and probably stopped many women from trying tampons.
Note the mention of European tampons; read
the commentary at the top of this page. Didn't Americans in
the theater use tampons? This leaflet is from the older box but seems identical
to that of the 1939 one.
The manufacturers write that the tampon contains
no deodorants or medication, a fact that puts them
ahead of many current products.
Read a slightly later (1945) comparison between
tampons and pads, which favored tampons.
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Below: The back and front sides of the
leaflet. That's a bold red! The art-deco half circle
(à la Chrysler Building) at right shows the menstrual
flowers often associated with menstrual products.
Flowers in menstrual usage probably derive from the French flueurs,
flow (read more). And art
deco
itself comes from French; Merriam-Webster online writes, "French Art
Déco, from Exposition
Internationale des Arts Décoratifs
et Industriels Modernes, an exposition of modern decorative and
industrial arts held in Paris, France, in 1925 [emphasis added]."
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The last and first pages of the instructions (3.25 x 7"
[16.5 x 8.2 cm) opened), which show the red, a color
seldom found today on menstrual packaging, and much more often on these
early boxes.
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The cord may be silken, but it looks like cotton to me; this
might be an attempt to dignify the topic.
In spite of the assurance, tampons and pads clogged drains
everywhere. Read the comments and anecdotes
in Dr. Lillian Gilbreth's Johnson & Johnson report (1927).
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