The British physician Joseph Mortimer Granville invented what we today know to be the first electric vibrator, the so-called “percuteur” in the early 1880’s.

In the beginning it was nothing but a purpose build medical tool used on men to stimulate ailing nerves and muscle aches. Doctor Granville believed that the electromechanical vibrations from the percuteur would relieve any type of muscle related pain. Shortly after Granville’s invention became popular, a group of Victorian doctors who specialised in treating the condition known as “female hysteria” discovered that they could use the device to shorten the time it took to perform a so-called pelvic massage on their numerous female patients. Actually it became the most utilised device after the stethoscope until the late 1920’s. It seemed to work as well; the doctors reported that their female hysteria patients became much less stressed and appeared to be more content after the treatment. After this success, the vibrator became a popular household tool advertised and sold under names such as  the “massager” or “manipulator”. Homemakers bought them and had them on display in their homes and they were considered just as ordinary to own as a vacuum cleaner or the sewing machine.

So, when did the view on this once respectable device change? When did it go from being a praised revolutionary invention to a simple and vulgar sex-toy that no one admits owning? Welcome to an evening where we present the interesting history of the vibrator.