An informative and funny history of devices intended to bring women to "hysterical paroxysm," some dating as far back as the 19th century.
Link to "For Pleasure," by Teresa Riordan.
Reader comment: a bashful "anonymous historian" says,
As an update to the Slate link on vibratory history, I'd like to recomend the work of a colleague: several years ago, Rachel Maines published The Technology of Orgasm : "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction, the first book-length academic coverage of the technological history of vibrators. It's out in paperback: Link.
Boing Boing reader Dow says,
Used vibrators for sale… that's right, USED. I ran across this from a music thing post about DIY mic construction. [Ed. Note: Yeahhhh, right…. for a friend. :-)] I think the user review says it all. Gross. I thought it would make a funny addition to your vibrator post. Some things simply never should be bought used.
Kristen says,
I thought you would appreciate hearing about this interesting (and much more comprehensive) site dedicated to the history of the vibrator. Good Vibrations, the sex-positive toy store made famous by Savage Love and before that by Annie Sprinkle, has one of the best collections of antique vibrators anywhere. Their online exhibit has TONS of photographs including details, text from packages, and a very well-written history. The collection is also on display at the Good Vibrations flagship retail store in San Francisco. It's much more exhaustive both in terms of information and photos, and it's been around on the Internet for quite a while.
