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 (towel) for traveling
women: Southalls'
(U.K.)
Small box with single pad (1930s?)
Women who traveled when
menstruating ran into problems
before disposable pads widely
appeared in the 1920s. This single
towel - the English name for
menstrual pad or napkin - saved
women the trouble of washing a washable
pad, which were sometimes
burned, for example in a hotel
fireplace or with a special
burner.
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 (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
- today, too - these things as
evidenced in the Gilbreth
report.
See 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:
Unlike the larger
box, the opposing large
sides are different. The box
measures 2 1/2 x 1 3/8 x 5/8"
(about 6.2 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm).
American travel(l)ing ladies
bought these
pads and sanitary aprons.
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Below:
The sides and ends.
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Below:
Pads in the 1930s and
before usually came in
three sizes, at most, so
science marched forward
with these.
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Left:
The ends are
identical.
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Below:
Open one end and you see the
folded pad.
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Below:
The block of folded pad right from
the box seeing daylight for the
first time in decades - just as
with the larger
one. It wasn't easy to get
out!
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