Washable pads, 1902 & 1908, U.S.A. Snap-on style washable pad -Washable pad with belt - See how women wear a belt with a pad - see a Swedish ad showing a belt and pad - German pattern for washable pads, probably before 1900 - And see a menstrual sponge Washable pads from Almora, Uttar Pradesh state, India and Rajasthan state, India - Nineteenth-century Norwegian washable pads - Italian washable pad, probably from the 1890s - instructions for making Japanese pads, early 20th century? - German, about 1900 See Cardui patent medicine, Lydia Pinkham's Compound, Dr. Pierce's medicine and Orange Blossum medicine. Other amazing women: Nellie Bly, Lydia Pinkham, Dr. Marie Stopes Historical remedies for menstrual period pain and problems. See more remedies here. See modern home remedies here. Handwritten Pinkham letter to a sick woman, Typed letter to a Canadian (1918), Ad from the Salt Lake Weekly Herald (1881) for Mrs. Pinkham, trade cards (flowers, girl with cat), post card of Stanford University, a bottle for Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, mending kit, booklet Stretching Your Dollar, bottles for her Blood Medicine and (just plain) Medicine, Home Talks, Private Text-Book Upon Ailments Peculiar to Women, Fruits and Candies booklet, and a modern bottle, box and instructions for her Tablets. A discussion of the letter testimonials, and their authenticity, of the Pinkham company (in a discussion of a Pursettes ad with a letter testimonial) See two letters to MUM about the ingredients of her Compound, and one about the lyrics of an English pop song, Lily the Pink, about her. Other amazing women: Nelli Bly, Dr. Marie Stopes, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson 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) | asbestos | 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. Bird eye (bird's eye, birdseye)) cloth for homemade washable menstrual pads and diapers Ad in the Washington Post, September 11, 1904 In the 19th and 20th centuries, and probably even today, women made diapers for their children and menstrual napkins for themselves from an absorbent cloth called bird's eye, which had a pattern that looked like a, um, bird's eye. (See later disparaging comments about the association of diapers with menstrual pads.) When this online museum was a real museum in my house for four years, I strung a clothes line and hung a birdseye (one of several possible spellings) cloth from it, showing visitors how some back yards looked in those earlier times. A photographer from the Chicago Tribune who visited the museum with a reporter told me that he saw many menstrual rags hanging in the yards of many houses in a black section of Chicago where he lived as a child in the 1950s. He said he and friends would try to guess which women were wearing them by observing the bulges under their clothes. See a modern, beautiful bowl to soak used menstrual pads in. I again thank the genealogist for the many many ads she's sent, including this one. SEE Modern Snap-on style washable pad, washable pad with belt. A menstrual sponge, a modern, beautiful bowl to soak used menstrual pads in. Washable pads from Almora, Uttar Pradesh state, India and Rajasthan state, India - Nineteenth-century Norwegian washable pads - Italian washable pad, probably from the 1890s - Instructions for making Japanese pads, early 20th century? - German, about 1900 - 1902 & 1908, U.S.A. - Tip for making a washable pad, 1907 - German washable pads and belt, with case (about 1935-40)  Someone wrote MUM the following in March 2006: "About washable pads: there are quite a few moms who have work-at-home businesses making these things. I find them to be far superior to Glad Rags. This page shows several styles: http://www.diaperware.com/mooncare/mooncare.htm "There are also work-at-home moms who make pad pots. An example: http://www.primalmommy.com/padpots.htm" See also the patent medicine Cardui, Dr. Grace Feder Thompson's letter appealing for patients, Dr. Pierce's medicines, and Orange Blossom medicine. © 2006, 2014 Harry Finley. It is illegal to reproduce or distribute work on this Web site in any manner or medium without written permission of the author. Please report suspected violations to hfinley@mum.org