From the same company, tampons: Meds (U.S.A. and elsewhere, box and tampon, 1967, Personal Products Company) - Meds (box & tampons, 1940s-1950s?) - pamphlet introducing Meds to the world (1930s) - Meds box & tampons, 1970, New Zealand - 1941 ad - Personal Digest leaflets, which sometimes have information about Meds (1966-67) - 1967 ad - undated instructions here and here. - Australian ad, 1950s

From the same company, sanitary napkins (pads):

Modess (Johnson & Johnson, Personal Products Co., U.S.A.) 1927 Gilbreth report to Johnson & Johnson about Modess - newspaper ads 1927-28 - "Silent Purchase" ad, June 1928 - ad, 1928 - "Modernizing Mother" ads: #1, February 1929 ("Mother . . . don't be quaint"); #3 April 1929 ("Don't weaken, Mother"); #5, June 1929 ("Never mind, Mother, you'll learn") - ad about concealing pad, 1930 - ad compared with Kotex ad, 1931 - ad, 1931 - wrapped Modess pad for dispenser, 1930s? - Ad, U.K., 1936 - True or False? ad in The American Girl magazine, January 1947 - actress Carol Lynley in "How shall I tell my daughter?" booklet ad (1955) - Australian ad, 1957 - ad (1956) with "Modess . . . . because" ad incorporated into it - ad for "Growing Up and Liking It" booklet (1963, Modess) - - Modess . . . . because ads (many dates) - ad with baby, 1969: "She knows as much about sanitary napkins as you do." - French ad, 1970s? - ad, French, 1972, photo by David Hamilton - Personal Digest leaflets (7), 1966-67: describe Modess products - How Modess Sanitary Napkins Began: excerpts from"A Company That Cares: One Hundred Year Illustrated History of Johnson and Johnson"

From the same company, booklets for boys & girls:

Boys: Have you wondered what happens when girls grow up? (complete pamphlet, Personal Products Co., 1973) Quick lessons for probably only mildly interested boys.

Essence of Womanhood (complete booklet, 1959, Personal Products Corp., Modess tampons, U.S.A.)

Growing Up and Liking It (complete booklets: 1944, 1949, 1957, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1991. The Personal Products Company, U.S.A.) (many covers, 1944-1991)

How shall I tell my daughter? [How Shall I Tell My Daughter? in the 1954 edition & Daughter in 1969] (complete booklets, 1954, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1981, Personal Products Co.) See covers of Modess booklets. Excerpt about how to fasten a pad to a belt and about sanitary panties & a funny story from the 1969 booklet.

Nancy's Biggest Day at Camp (complete booklet, 1941, Modess menstrual pads, U.S.A.) Nancy's biggest day was learning about menstruation at summer camp, not having her first period there unless the company just didn't want to discuss that. No discussion of tampons, which Modess also made, probably because many people thought they would turn a virgin into a fallen wom-, er, girl, a problem Tampax discussed in an ad. Black and white. Generous gift from an anonymous donor!

[The] Periodic Cycle (complete booklet, 1938, The Personal Products Corp., U.S.A., maker of Modess pads) The booklet states that this is for older teenage girls, and is probably a companion to What a trained nurse wrote to her young sister, below.

Sally and Mary and Kate Wondered . . . (complete booklet, cover, 1956, Personal Products Corp., U.S.A.)

Strictly Feminine (complete booklet with an actual letter from a mother to her daughter's doctor - 1969, Personal Products Co. [Modess], U.S.A.)

MORE booklets, pads, tampons
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links:
homepage |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) | bemnet.pair.comasbestos | 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.


The Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health

Meds tampon
Newspaper ad, November 1969
Mademoiselle magazine

Modess - this is a tampon of that brand - reminds, er, older people and those in the know of the famous Modess . . . . because pad campaign, a masterpiece of restraint and speechlessness.

Which reminds me of when I presented Delaney, Lupton and Toth's book The Curse, a famous introduction to the culture of menstruation, to the college-age female cashier at Reiter's Book Store in Washington, D.C., many years ago.

She studied the cover for three moments, glanced at me (a male), looked at the book again,  opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Then, her expression revealing strain and restraint, she turned to the cash register and rang it up. She never looked at me after that first glance, never said "Did you find what you were looking for?" maybe because she didn't want to hear the answer.

Ah, the lonely life of a menstruation museum founder.

In the ad, "Why are some tampons just chunks of cotton?" challenges Tampax at its very being.

The race to absorb as much as possible led to the toxic shock disaster of a few years later.

And the headline sums up what most women feel about pads and tampons and sponges and cups and menstruation: JUST GO AWAY!


Below: The black & white ad measures about 8 x 11" (about 20.5 x 28.2 cm).


A Meds tampon, box and ad from 19671956 Modess flexible tampon ad

Sally and Mary and Kate Wondered . . . (complete booklet, cover, 1956, Personal Products Corp., Modess,  U.S.A.)

Strictly Feminine (complete booklet with an actual letter from a mother to her daughter's doctor - 1969, Personal Products Co. [Modess], U.S.A.)

Pamphlet introducing Meds tampons to the world (1930s), the Modess tampon predecessor. The pamphlet does NOT introduce the cat of the same name to the world!

MORE booklets, pads, tampons


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