Manufactured pads

By the late 1800s manufacturers were producing various contraptions for dealing with menstrual bleeding and protecting clothes. Disposable sanitary napkins and sometimes belts to use with them were advertised discreetly in drapers' catalogues and magazines like The Australian Women's Mirror. In the 1930s many brands were made in Australia, including Silktex, Menex, Hosezene, Santaluxe, Kotex and Modess. Not all women wanted to use them or could afford to.

The "Hygena" Menstrual or Period Protector for Ladies' Use … It is made of finest quality rubber … a sponge, cloth, cotton-wool or any absorbing material can be placed in it to receive the discharge. Catalogue item in Wife's Guide and Friend by Dr S Warren, Melbourne, c1900. Reproduced courtesy of the Frank Forster Library, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG). Click image to launch zoomable high resolution version (requires java)

The "Hygena" Sanitary Towel and Waistband … Will wash and boil equal to linen … Fig. 1 shows the towel open. Fig. 2 shows it as attached to the waistband. Catalogue item in Wife's Guide and Friend by Dr S Warren, Melbourne, c1900. Reproduced courtesy of the Frank Forster Library, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG). Click image to launch zoomable high resolution version (requires java)

 

Sanitary towel in box, Santaluxe, cotton/ paper/ metal, [1935-1955].
Tightly packed in this little cardboard box is a single sanitary towel made of white absorbent material covered with loose-woven gauze. The package may have been made for vending machines. Although the label says the towel has 'looped ends', two small safety pins are also included in the box, presumably for the woman who is caught without her sanitary belt. PHM collection 2003/84/1. Purchased 2003.

 

 

I think bought ones must have been a strain on my mother's housekeeping budget. If I ran out of 'things' (as they were referred to in our house), Mum would make some out of torn-up old sheets, folding squares of the material over and over on the diagonal. Used ones were wrapped in newspaper and burnt in the fire under the copper in the laundry.
That would have been in the late 1950s.
MH, Sydney, NSW

Sanitary pads, box of 12, Modess, paper/ textile, Johnson & Johnson Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia, 1940-1950.
Modess were introduced to the Australian market by Johnson & Johnson in 1932. A huge marketing campaign saw advertisements in newspapers and women's magazines emphasising 'style and quality', expressed through illustrations of women in elegant evening gowns. Instead of unobtrusive packaging Johnson & Johnson took an innovative approach by designing a box printed with three colours. However, only a few years later, World War II brought austerity. The 1940s Modess from the Powerhouse collection are in a plain brown box. Its small printed label declares that it is a 'War Time Container'. The napkins themselves are made of an absorbent material covered with gauze. PHM collection 2002/112/1. Purchased 2002.

Sanitary belt, cotton/ elastic/ metal, Australia, [1980].
Early commercial sanitary belts needed safety pins for securing the pad, but around 1960-1970 metal clasps were added to the tabs on the elastic belt.
This example would have been made by one of the major manufacturers of sanitary pads and it has a metal clasp. The owner believed it dated from 1980 when her son was born, and was probably among the bag of necessities she took with her to the maternity hospital. PHM collection 96/189/1. Gift of Mrs Ellen Stephenson and Mrs Anne Smith 1996.

Women's undergarment with belt, Warner's Le Gant, reference sample, nylon/ elastic, [Berlei Ltd, Australia], 1960.
This unusual garment doesn't resemble the corsets and girdles usually associated with the 'Warner's Le Gant' brand name. When it was first acquired by the Powerhouse it was identified as a 'sanitary belt', but closer inspection suggests that it may not be associated with menstruation at all. It consists of a hemmed rectangle of nylon jersey fabric (42cm x 23.5cm) that is meant to pass across the wearer's crotch and down the inner thighs. The elastic waist band, strapping and loops would hold it in place against the wearer's legs. Perhaps it was designed to relieve chaffed thighs. PHM collection A8211-165.
Gift of Berlei-Hestia 1982.

Sanitary pads, packet of 10 Stayfree deodorant adhesive pads, Johnson & Johnson Australia Pty Ltd, Australia, 1987.
Purchased at a Sydney supermarket for $AU1.37, these Stayfree pads show just how many improvements in design had taken place in the 80 years since disposable napkins were first manufactured. Plastics, nonwovens and adhesives were just some of the technologies involved. This packet of 10 regular pads boasts such features as deodorant, adhesive, stay-dry cover and polythene safety shield. PHM collection 87/1122D-7. Purchased 1987.

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