Sheets of medicated toilet paper with a cardboard container at the front, back and bottom, then wrapped and sealed with a single sheet of printed paper; the paper lists product information; there is a wire holding the sheets of toilet paper together.
Sheets of medicated toilet paper with a cardboard container at the front, back and bottom, then wrapped and sealed with a single sheet of printed paper; the paper lists product information; there is a wire holding the sheets of toilet paper together.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Purchased by Dr. M. Chiong for his patent medicine collection.
Maker
Majestic
Dates
1890
1920
circa 1890-1920
Material
metal: grey
cardboard:
paper: white
Inscriptions
Paper wrapper reads, "MAJESTIC // PURE // MEDICATED TOILET" (front); "THE consumption of Paper is the measure of a nation's // culture" (side); "TOILET Paper is of great Medical and Sanitary Value, and // pronounced by the Medical profession: -- "The greatest // boon the art of paper making has developed"" (other side)
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-A2-5 Row F
Dimension Notes
Length: 10.4 cm. x Width: 15.5 cm. x Depth: 3.7 cm.
Condition Remarks
The toilet paper is unopened and unused; the paper wrapper shows some minor staining (foxing) and the metal wire within has broken through the paper at the front; there is some minor wear of the paper at the corners
Copy Type
Original
Research Facts
In North America toilet paper did not appear until 1857, when American Joseph Gayetti introduced “paper for the water closet.” Given that pages from free catalogues were readily available, he needed a marketing gimmick. The “health gambit” fit the bill. Gayetti claimed that Americans were ruining their physical and mental health by wiping with printed paper that had “death-dealing” chemicals such as lampblack, oxalic acid, oil of vitriol and chloride of lime. His “Medicated Paper” was “pure as snow” and may have included aloe. Unlike catalogue paper, it wouldn’t cause hemorrhoids and “would cheat physicians out of their fees.” When flush toilets became more common, he cleverly changed the pitch to “this paper will dissolve so that it will not like ordinary paper choke the water pipes.”
Exhibit History
On loan for exhibit "Clean up your Act - S Sanitization Methods Over Time" Kingston Association of Museums, Art Galleries and Historic Sites Inc. on display at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library Central Branch 6 April – 8 July, 2022.
May 24 - Sept. 13, 2001: Agnes Etherington Art Centre Museopathy exhibit