Victorian Vibrators

Faline · #1 ● 09-26-2013, 02:11 PM

They look like old cooking utensils you might find in the back of your Gran's kitchen cupboards.

But it seems egg whisks had a far more exciting purpose back in the Victorian era.

This stunning collection of vintage vibrators brought cheeky smiles to the faces of many rich Victorian ladies, proving that sex was in fact not invented in the swinging 60s.

And it seems we have the respectable doctors of the 1890s to thank for the invention of the sex toy as we know it today.

These vintage self-massages were devised to carry out 'pelvic massage' on women as a common treatment in Victorian times for female hysteria.

Doctors found the process of administering massage by hand too tiring and time-consuming so invented these bad boys to do the job for them.

Dr Macaura's Pulsocon Hand Crank Vibrator, resembling an old-fashioned egg whisk, is among the fascinating collection on display at Littledean Jail in the Forest of Dean.

The visitor attraction offers an eye-opening insight into how Victorian women - often too prudish to reveal even their table legs - were more than happy to be sent to heaven and back.

Littledean Jail owner and curator Andy Jones, 51, said: “If you plug them in, the force is incredible. They’re loud and some of them look like hairdryers.

“I would imagine it would have been quite a painful exercise, judging by what I’ve seen of them, like having a kango hammer pressed against your body.”