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Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Guide to the Museum of Menstruation Collection
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAH.AC.1586
- Creators:
-
Finley, Harry, 1942-
- Dates:
-
circa 1890s-2011
- Languages:
-
Some materials inDutch,French,German,Italian,Japanese,Norweigan, andSpanish.
- Physical Description:
-
7.5 Cubic feet23 boxes, 1 map folder
- Repository:
Collection documents menstruation and menstrual products.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
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.
Arrangement
Arrangement
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
Biographical
Biographical
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.
Historical
Historical
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.
Administration
Author
Alison Oswald
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Harry Finley, October 13, 2022.
Processing Information
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.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Reference copies for audio and moving images materials do not exist. Use of these materials requires special arrangement. Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives.
Preferred Citation
Museum of Menstruation Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Keywords
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
archivescenter@si.edu
