See the German booklet [Die] Menstruation (excerpts, 1977, o.b. tampons, Germany) Photographer
David Hamilton contributed many photographs to this explicit and beautiful
booklet. By the way, "Die" in the title means "the,"
not to lose life.
Booklets from about this time, 1956:
now you are 10 (complete
booklet, 1958, Kotex, U.S.A.)
Essence of Womanhood (complete
booklet, 1959, Personal Products Corp., Modess tampons, U.S.A.)
Growing Up and Liking It (1957,
The Personal Products Company, U.S.A.)
How shall I tell my daughter? (1954,
Personal Products Co., U.S.A.)
Sally and Mary and Kate Wondered . . . (complete booklet, cover,
1956, Personal Products Corp., U.S.A.)
"You're a young lady now" (complete
booklet, 1952, Kotex, U.S.A.) The first owner
might have printed her named on the back of the booklet. Complete booklet,
1959, apparently with the owner's name cut out.
"From Fiction to Fact: a teaching guide about
puberty, menstruation and the human reproductive system" (complete 1966, 1986, Tambrands, U.S.A. The 1966 version is part of the
huge "Educational Material on Menstruation furnished
by the makers of Tampax," 1966)
Tell it like it is: Straight talk about tampons
(complete booklet, 1968, Kotex stick tampons,
U.S.A., revised 1974; complete booklet, 1981,
although the title lacks the subtitle "Straight talk about tampons").
I wonder if "straight" alludes to
the shape of tampons.
Tampax Junior tampons, late 1930s-1940s
Tampax Satin Learner's Kit (for menstruation),
2001, in 3 languages
Instructions from Tampax about what to tell customers, 1936
Tampax "Educational Material on Menstruation,"
1966
Booklets menstrual hygiene companies made
for girls, women and teachers - patent medicine
- a list of books and articles about menstruation
- videos
See early tampons and a list of tampons on this site - at least the ones I've cataloged.
 
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German Tampax menstrual tampons educational booklet,
Es geht um die besten Jahre Ihres Lebens!
[It's a Matter of the Best Years of Your Life!]
1956[?], Germany
(deutsches Heft, Büchlein, Menstruation,
Aufklärung, problems, PMS, puberty, menstrual cycle, tampons, girls,
Mädchen, Frau, kritische Tage, Geschlechtsreife, Hormone, Wechseljahre,
Beschwerden)
Whole booklet
See the German booklet [Die] Menstruation (excerpts, 1977, o.b. tampons)
Similar booklets in the column at left.
I thank the Dutch contributor of many items
to the museum and this site for these scans!
And I thank the former Tambrands, once maker of Tampax, for the boxes below
they donated to this museum, MUM.
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Below: P. 33
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Below: Enlargements of the pictures compared
with real boxes from the MUM collection
for two of them.
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Below: From the above page: It's curious
that the box bears two designations for use,
Normal and No. 1.
MUM doesn't have a normal Tampax box from this year.
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Below: The super size compared with an
American box two years later.
Note have the boxes resemble each other.
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Below: I created the yellow circle to show
hard-to-read writing that's enlarged below
on this American box from 1958. Someone at Tambrands affixed the tape with
the date.
I thank the former Tambrands, once maker of
Tampax, for the boxes below they donated to this museum, MUM.
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Below: I enlarged the faint writing inside
the yellow circle.
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Below: The part covered up two pictures
above (taken from the other side of the box).
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Below: Junior Tampax, which seniors
could also use.
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Below: American
Junior Tampax box from 1955. Somebody at Tambrands
wrote on the box.
The former Tambrands kindly donated the box.
Note: "Preferred
by many for the waning days," meaning not for summer, fall and
until the winter solstice but for the end of the menstrual period. As much
of the box does, this repeats what the German box (above) has on it: "Bevorzugt während der abklingenden Tage"
although that box replaces "by many" with "auch" (also).
Kotex designated its tampon Fibs also for "waning days of the period." Another
tampon refers to the "waning days."
And this box refers to the American Medical Association; the German one
writes "ärztlich empfohlen," "doctor recommended,"
since the AMA wouldn't mean anything to Germans.
Compare an American junior
and super from the 1930s.
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Below: For your making it this far, the
bonus boxes are (top to bottom) German Super
(extra) from 1972, on which a hand from American
Tampax wrote; Spanish language
Regular Tampax from 1971; and American Super
Tampax from 1972.
The Germans went their own way with the design at
that time except for the typeface for Tampax. But the T does mysteriously
differ among them as it did decades before.
The former Tambrands kindly donated the box. People at Tambrands
wrote on the boxes.
At bottom, "Mit erhöhter Saugfähigkeit"
means "With increased absorbency."
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See a 1930s French Tampax box, tampons and
instructions.
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Booklets from about this time, 1956:
now you are 10 (complete
booklet, 1958, Kotex, U.S.A.)
Essence of Womanhood (complete
booklet, 1959, Personal Products Corp., Modess tampons, U.S.A.)
Growing Up and Liking It (1957,
The Personal Products Company, U.S.A.)
How shall I tell my daughter? (1954,
Personal Products Co., U.S.A.)
Sally and Mary and Kate Wondered . . . (complete booklet, cover,
1956, Personal Products Corp., U.S.A.)
"You're a young lady now" (complete
booklet, 1952, Kotex, U.S.A.) - Many more BOOKLETS - Many more TAMPONS
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© 2009 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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