Names of Bags

In the "Golden Age" of enemas all drug stores were a cornucopia of various enema and douching equipment. Many of them had very noble sounding names. Here is a list that I came up with of the various names, and would like to see people add to the list if you can think of any others. And with this group, I am sure we can.

Reliance

Wearever

Comfy

Dreadnaught

Endurance

Roxbury

Kantleek

Criterion

Merit

Monarch

Crusader

Petal

Paris

Victoria

Flamingo

Rainbow

Defender

A hand-full of companies, Rexall, Davol, Faultless, etc made many of these brands.

How many others can anyone think of?

I think you pretty well covered the names, and some of them are pretty interesting.

I would think women would be most likely be drawn to something called a "Petal", "Comfy" or "Rainbow". Something called a "Dreadnaught", "Crusader" or "Defender" would tend to appeal more to men.

On the other hand, in "The golden Age", purchases of "rubber goods" were almost always made by the lady of the house, so one wonders how the various names would affect the choice of which one to buy.

Today, if you do find a bag in a store, it may have any number of brand names, but are always the same crappy thing made in China.

My mom used to have a amber latex travelfold by Davol. It was called the "Sojourn" model.

Here are a few more and these are just american products.

Arcross, Armstrong, Challenge, Davidson, Relief, Commander, Good Health, Family, Hospital, Madison, Maderite, Nearkid, Peerless, Penslar, Radio, Sunburst, Symbol, Taybro, Topper, Triway, Tropic, Tyson,Pike, Compacto, Dainty Maid, Colagyn, Venus, Journey Gem, Ci-Pak, Starlet, Travelfold, Spectra, Merit, Journey-aid, Hyde-a-way, Stanley, Wonder, Ingrams, Marvel, Dr. Tullar, Dr. Molesworth, Dr. Southall, Dr. Aaron's, Dr. Gray, Dr. Thomas, Dr. Wilhoft, JBL and additional manufacturers and retailers: BF Goodrich, Miller, Peoples, Sears and Wards

Einlauf: I nominate you as THE EXPERT on fountain syringe brands. You must have a larger collection than I have. How about the Davol "PRINCESS"? My mom had an Armstrong Cork Co. "ARTWEAVE" open top which saw plenty of use and was my first love.

You guys are definitely good and have jogged my memory of some great times in the past. I bought and sold many of these on EBAY over the last 6 or 7 years. It has been an enjoyable hobby.

One of my absolute favorites, that still gets frequent use, is the US Rubber "Royal" fountain syringe. I have a white one. I also have the reddish orange "Royal" combination syringe. Both likely hail from the late 40's or early 50's. I also have an "Olympic" water bottle with attachments as well as my namesake, a Miller "Cameo".

I posted something related on a different board earlier. I agree that the marketing folks were likely trying to appeal to certain customers when they named these items. Although mom's were the most likely to make the purchase, I can't help but wonder if their were some ulterior motives when mom brought home a "Crusader" versus a "Petal". In any case, I feel like Royalty when on the receiving end of some of these great old enema bags.

Ok, this has really got me thinking. (Almost like a Rolls Royce vs. a Volkswagen.) What were some of the more expensive brands? What types were the high-end models on the showroom?

A long time ago I used my Shy douche syringe for enemas. Very nice!

Sara

A couple of the better bags that come to mind immediately are the Faultless Wearever and the Rexall Victoria bags.

The Golden age of enemas is a very nostalgic period and just walking around seeing many these displayed in drug store showcases and inside department stores was quite normal in those days. Nowadays one has to look hard to find any enema bags and they are usually hidden away as if they are too embarrasing to be out in the open!

Thankfully we can now still find all these wonderful vintage bags still on Ebay and have the pleasure of building up our collections and using them as so many are still unused and complete in their original boxes....

It would be interestting to know how all these fascinating names were thought of like Crusader, Defender, Dreadnaught, Comfy, Petal and many others, some of the names intented to appeal to men and woman depending on the meaning of the names!

I suspect that Davol and Faultless are pretty much it in bags today _ when you can find them.

In any case, during the Golden Age, the sturdy white irrigator cans seemed to have much fewer brand names, with Jones (the most popular), Vollrath and Asepticon the only ones I can think of off-hand. Can others here add to the list?

To answer sarajane's question...many of the companies manufacturing fountain syringes and combination bags gave the consumer options for quality. The length of guarantee usually gave a clue to the bags lasting power. Most bags only had a two year guarantee, but a few bags could boast five years. The better bags usually had a larger capacity such as 2.5 or 2.75 quarts instead of the standard 2 quarts. Also, some companies like Armstrong Cork would attach a seal onto the box to identify the quality of its product. For example, their 'silver leaf' bag would carry a silver medallion that read 'FINE', while their 'gold leaf' bag had a gold medallion imprinted with 'FINEST'. Some companies added a flow control to their package setting them apart from the rest. Not one manufacturer stands out as having the best bag. Collectors today look for bags with a large capacity and in serviceable condition. The anode latex bags like b.f. goodrich's SOJOURN will fetch a high price on ebay and most of these bags are as usable today as they were 60 years ago.

To ad to eman5's metal irrigator list...ARMCO and COLUMBIAN also made such cans.

Sarajane: I used a SHY bulb for an enema; boy was the flow FAST! I was filled up real quickly-2 qts. That was fun until it burst upon filling one time. I still have the 2 pipes it came with; yes the older ones did come with a rectal pipe.

What a success with your post SaraJaneP, please post more.

As french speaking I understand and share what SaraJaneP wrote about enema equipement brands and have also nostalgy.

I also need to have a precise tought about the several equipement I have the choice.

Top quality is no more the target, now it is the maximum production in the shortest time, to make profits,

and no more to sale good equipement.

Where I don't share the opinion of SaraJaneP is :

I have to say that Volkswagen is a high reliability car since the WW II.

Please can you send me a mail describing what is a " Shy douche "

Arthur

Still have and use a 3qt Paris bag 😜

I have a few of the older bags in my collection - Davol, Victoria - I got mine through Ebay, in most cases. The really good ones are scapped up by collectors or by people willing and able to pay a lot more then I can. I'd like to get my hand on an old Paris bag that handles 3 quarts. Until then, the new (of much lesser quality)stuff will have to do.

Are any of these carried by local drug stores today?

Walgreens still carries combo bags. In store or on-line. Bag and hose are of decent quality. Walmart has China Junk, not worth the bother.

Check out ebay for used and other. Search

enema douche

Enjoy.

I can remember Rexall and Davol being the ones that I was around when I was getting into enemas (red hoses and black nozzeles). They seemed more heavy-duty than the ones you can buy now. Hotliner

There are a few other names of bags I can think of not yet mentioned being:

Acushnet.

Noreg.

Viceroy...Canadian Bags

The only way to hopefully get a chance to obtain these vintage bags is now through buying on Ebay or from Estate sales.

My mother had a Lakeside which was made by BFGoodrich. When I bought my travel syringe while in college it was an amber one that said "made in Italy" and "Pirelli" on it. It was very good quality and I was very unhappy when it finally wore out.

The combination bag we use at home is a Faultless that is of decent quality. We've had it for like 25 years and it still gets frequent use.

I think my all time favorite name was "Macy's Deluxe" - a red 3 quart beauty which I got from the "home" Macy's store on 34th Street in NYC - the one in the movie "Miracle on 34th Street". Sadly, Macy's is no longer in the enema bag business - I sure enjoyed giving them my business.

I checked my local Walgreens the other day and all the had was a water bottle. No enemas, and this store used to carry a fountain and a combination. I don't find any in my local Walmart. Walgreens does have enemas online, but I think if I remember right there was only one choice as far as bags.

Bill

All of this discussion made me try to recall the name and mfg. of my all time favorite folding syringe. It was made of white rubber, sort of long and slender but with deep pleats that expanded when the bag was filled. Might have held at least 2 1/2 quarts. Rather than a grommet at the top, it had a ruuber loop large enought to fit over a shower handle or door knob which made it easy to use in a hotel room away from home. (Another name for the folding syringe was travel syringe, probably harking back to the day when douches were used for contraception and had to be ready to go anywhere) The hose was also white with ribbing running along the length of the hose that made it resist kinking. It had 2 white plastic nozzles; a long straight one for douching with 4 ribs running about half its length with numerous small holes that allowed water to spray out at right angles all around it and a short enema tip. Both were threaded so they could be attached to a plastic fitting on the end of the hose. I think the shut-off was metal and may have been chromed plated- sort of a lever action that would slow or stop the flow. The whole outfit came in a beautiful zippered case that was white embossed plastic on the outside and maroon fabric on the inside. It might have cost between $6 and $8 back in the "Golden Age" circa 1965. My guess was that it was made by Faultless or Seamless, but memory fades. I doubt that any survive today - the rubber loop on mine stretched easily and eventually broke. Any of you fans of the gear available in those days remember the name and manufacturer?

Commander

Nearkid

Kantleak.

All bizarre!

Don't forget the Seiberling Rubber Company. It is properly spelled with the "e" before the "i." I have two of their fine old amber latex folding bags. Pics of them on my profile page, if anyone is looking. If the company gave a name to the individual design of the bag, I don't know it.

I recently won an orange/ red rubber 3 quart capacity vintage Paramount hot water bottle on Ebay which is very soft and pliable. I have never seen this particular type or model before and wondering if anyone has one of these or knows who the manufacturer was? The front side is very smooth and the reverse side has lined ribbing in six panels. The brand name Paramount is stamped on the lower right side of the bottle and the bottom hanging tab is stamped Made in the USA.

Its a very well made item and similar soft and pliable rubber quality to the largest size B.F.Goodrich 36 model and a real beauty and guess this could be from the 1940/50's!

I was quite surprised to be the only intersted bidder specially as the larger capacity bags often get a good number of bids and sell at higher prices so this was a very lucky find for my vintage bag collection....

Klystra tries, but for some reason even their retro red bags don't have the cache of those of the 'golden age' More's the pity!

Out house bag was a Davol Travelfold Fountain Syringe. An amber latex bag that I never actually saw on travel but it certainly got it's fair share of usage around the house. Amber bag, amber hose, metal shutoff clamp with black enema and douche nozzles.

Our house bag was a Davol Travelfold Fountain Syringe. An amber latex bag that I never actually saw on travel but it certainly got it's fair share of usage around the house. Amber bag, amber hose, metal shutoff clamp with black enema and douche nozzles.

My grandmother and my mother both had red closed top hot water bottle/enema syringes. Later on, my mother had a red Rexall Hydaway folding syringe that I used many times while living at home through high school. My other grandmother had a red Hydaway like ours and my aunt had a white Hydaway just like the red ones. All of them had ribbed tubing and black hard rubber enema and bulbuous douche nozzles. These bags had a large square opening at the top which was convenient for filling and mixing soap or other solutions. The tubing had metal clamps for controlling the flow of the solution. You could hear the snap of the clamp being opened an instant before you would feel the warm soapy water flowing into your tummy, so you knew it was coming.