Southall's ads
from the United Kingdom, 1888-1913
Lister's
[Sanitary] Towels (U.S.A.,
1890s-1920s?) 4 ads for the first American
disposable pad, by Johnson & Johnson
Read the main Hartmann
page and see similar early U.K. towels
(menstrual pads) by Mosana.
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MUSEUM OF MENSTRUATION AND
WOMEN'S HEALTH
Early disposable menstrual
napkin: Southalls'
(U.K.)
Large box with single pad (1930s?)
Southall's - the company early
used an apostrophe in two
different positions but
today uses none - was one of the
earliest makers of menstrual goods
in Great Britain and is still in
the business.
It's hard to date this box but
this note from Andrew Smith, the
donor, in 2008 gives a clue:
My aunty was in her 80's when
she died. She lived in
Manchester (England) all her
life. Why she had these items
(from the 1930's??) in her
drawer, I do not know!!
The typography is mixed and
inconsistent with the ads on
this site, probably indicating the
box dates after 1913.
There was nothing in this
previously unopened box but the
pad and pins shown here.
I can understand why women hated
these things as evidenced in the Gilbreth
report.
Southall's
ads from the United Kingdom,
1888-1913. Lister's
[Sanitary] Towels (U.S.A.,
1890s-1920s?) 4 ads for the first
American disposable pad, by
Johnson & Johnson
Read the main
Hartmann page and see
similar early U.K. towels
(menstrual pads) by Mosana.
I thank
Andrew Smith, Wales, United
Kingdom, for this generous
gift as well as two others!
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Below:
Opposing faces on the box are
identical. The box measures 1 7/8
x 2 5/8 x 3/4" (about 4.7 x 6.5 x
2 cm).
Most companies shunned, and shun,
red on packaging because (I think)
it might remind women of what the
contents are for.
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Below:
The side and top.
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Below:
Open one end and two safety pins
and the folded pad appear (see
them on the next page).
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Below:
The block of folded pad right from
the box seeing daylight for the
first time in decades.
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