Museum of Menstruation Collection
name: label: Donor
content: Finley, Harry, 1942-
label: Names
content: Museum of Menstruation  (1994-1998)
topic: label: Topic
content: Advertising, magazine -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Birth control
label: Topic
content: Contraceptives industry
label: Topic
content: Coupons (Retail trade)
label: Topic
content: Feminine hygiene products
label: Topic
content: Feminine hygiene products industry
label: Topic
content: Health education
label: Topic
content: Hygiene
label: Topic
content: Menstrual cycle
label: Topic
content: Menstruation
label: Topic
content: Patent medicines
label: Topic
content: Pregnancy
label: Topic
content: Sanitary napkins
label: Topic
content: Tampons
label: Topic
content: Sex
label: Topic
content: Sex instruction
label: Topic
content: Teenagers
label: Topic
content: Women -- Health and hygiene
label: Topic
content: Zines
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by Harry Finley, October 13, 2022.
creator: label: Donor
content: Finley, Harry, 1942-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Museum of Menstruation Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: Collection documents menstruation and menstrual products.
bioghist: label: Biographical
content: Harry Finley (1942-) was born in Long Branch, New Jersey to George and Marjorie Finley.  He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University and did post graduate work in philosophy and German at the University of Florida. Finley worked as a graphic designer for the Department of the Army in Washington DC and Germany (1971—2004) and also as a painter, illustrator, and cartoonist.
label: Historical
content: The Museum of Menstruation (MUM) was founded by Harry Finley in 1994 and operated as a physical museum until 1998, after which it continued as an extensive website. The Museum was an outgrowth of a collection he started assembling when living in Europe. Finley worked in Germany as a graphic designer for the U.S. government and was researching print ad layouts. Among the print ads he acquired some documented Kotex and other menstrual products which piqued his interest. Finley built the Museum's collection through his own collecting efforts, and through purchasing materials and by writing to researchers and mentrual-product manufacturers.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.5 Cubic feet (23 boxes, 1 map folder)
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1890s-2011
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1586
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Advertisements
label: Type
content: Cd-roms
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Filmstrips
label: Type
content: Fliers (printed matter)
label: Type
content: Newspaper clippings
label: Type
content: Pamphlets
label: Type
content: Patents
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Postcards
label: Type
content: Trade literature
label: Type
content: Videocassettes
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection is arranged into five series.

Series 1: Museum of Menstruation Materials, 1984-2003

Series 2: Booklets, Pamphlets, and Other Writings, circa 1894-2003

Series 3: Product Inserts and Product Packaging, circa 1890s-2011

Series 4: Advertising and Sales Materials, 1914-2000s

Series 5: Ephemera and Other Materials, circa 1896-2005
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2023.

An arrangement scheme for the papers was imposed during processing in the absence of a usable original order. Original file folder titles were retained in most cases.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Advertisements
label: Genre/Form
content: CD-ROMs
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Filmstrips
label: Genre/Form
content: Fliers (printed matter)
label: Genre/Form
content: Newspaper clippings
label: Genre/Form
content: Pamphlets
label: Genre/Form
content: Patents
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Postcards
label: Genre/Form
content: Trade literature
label: Genre/Form
content: Videocassettes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection documents through advertisements, product packaging, educational materials and pamphlets, correspondence, photographs, and videotapes, one of the most important topics in health experienced by half of the world's population, menstruation. Menstruation products are a worldwide industry with a documented connection to women's rights, pervasive economic, education, and opportunity inequities, and ecological problems. 

The archival materials document health, business, advertising, and innovation history. Topics found within the collection include freedom, equality, success, ideals of race and gender in advertising, disposable products and innovation, small, woman-owned businesses and DIYers (Do It Yourself) who devised products to keep plastics out of landfills; business and health issues with multinational conglomerates, such as Tambrands, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and Scott Paper Company; and period poverty and tampon tax issues. 

The collection represents US-made and consumed products, both mass-marketed and small business/DIY (Do It Yourself), from around the country. Also represented are products produced in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Mexico and Italy. All major, corporate US brands (and many multinational brands) are represented, for example: Tampax (now owned by Procter & Gamble), Kotex (Kimberly-Clark and Scott Paper), o.b (Johnson & Johnson, now Edgewell Personal Care). Also represented are a host of small companies, inventors, and DIY (Do It Yourself) products, such as: Women's Choice, Glad Rags, Instead Cup (Ultrafem), the Keeper, and organic cotton products from Natracare.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series: Medicine, NMAH.AC.0060

Saul Nesbitt Papers, NMAH.AC.1275

The Division of Medicine and Science, National Museum of American History

Division holds related artifacts. See Accession 2022.0221.