The company was founded in 1873 by the children of Lydia Estes Pinkham (1819-1883) to sell the vegetable compound that she had been giving away as a cure mainly for female maladies. The company eventually had operations in Mexico and Canada as well as the U.S., and its trademark was registered in Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and East Asia. In 1968 the company was sold to Cooper Laboratories of Connecticut (later of California). The collection contains pamphlets and advertisements that have been digitized and made available in the finding aid for the Pinkham Medicine Company records. Additionally, photographs from the collection have been digitized and made available in HOLLIS Images.

Anne Tolstoi Wallach was an advertising executive and novelist. She was the editor of the Radcliffe College literary magazine while attending school, and then began her advertising career at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency. In 1971, she began working as a copy writer in a group of women that included art directors and other professionals who created an advertisement campaign for the National Organization of Women, which advocated equal opportunities for women using the slogan "Womanpower: It's much too good to waste." The Wallach collection has been digitized and made available via Harvard's Mirador Viewer. Included are several mounted advertisements from the NOW campaign.

Good Housekeeping is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, literary articles, and accompanying advertisements. Cornell University offers open access to issues of Good Housekeeping ranging from 1885 to 1950 via Cornell University Digital Collections.

Harper's Bazaar is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Cornell University offers open access to issues of Harper's Bazaar ranging from 1867 to 1900 via Cornell University Digital Collections.

Ladies' Home Journal was an American magazine published from 1883 to 2016. It was one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. Some issues of Ladies Home Journal have been digitized and are available via Harvard's Mirador Viewer.