“Gayetty’s Medicated Paper, for the Water Closet” was the first toilet paper to be made commercially available. In 1857, 30-year-old Joseph C. Gayetty cornered the market, and his Medicated Paper was one of the few such hygiene products available through 1890.

Gayetty marketed his product as a treatment for hemorrhoids, despite the flecks of wood in the “pure Manilla hemp” paper. It was infused with aloe for lubrication, and each sheet bore the watermark, “J C Gayetty NY”. A Gayetty advertisement from 1859 touted the sale of 1,000 sheets for $1.00.

A rival company sued Gayetty in 1891 over an unpaid $25 debt. The case, over who had the right to sell paper bearing Gayetty’s name, dragged on in court for years. In 1900, the New York State Appellate Court stopped the Diamond Mills Paper Company—which had entered an agreement with the inventor—from using the Gayetty name on the original paper or any similar paper. That ended the dispute.

The company that won the suit, B.T. Hoogland’s Sons, sold the paper in 1900. It bore the watermark, “Papel Medicado De Gayetty” and gave Gayetty credit for the invention. Another Hoogland ad, from 1907, bears the same watermark in English.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org