Object Details
- Description
- This cardboard box held three latex prophylactics (condoms). The box is purple with white print. front of the box reads “YOUR SPECIAL PROTECTION PAR-X EVERY PIECE TESTED THOROUGHLY BY PERFECTED ELECTRONIC MACHINERY DISTRIBUTED BY CHANDLER DISTRIBUTORS, ST. LOUIS, MO.” The flap of the box lifts up to read “THREE GENUINE LATEX PROPHYLACTICS.” The back of the box reads “A PRODUCT OF PURE GUM LATEX PAR X TRADE MARK REG U.S.A.”
- Beginning in about 1920, condom manufacturers had begun using latex, as opposed to rubber, for their condoms. Because rubber condom manufacturing required the addition of gasoline to create liquid rubber, condom factories which produced rubber condoms were extremely susceptible to destruction by fire. Unlike rubber, latex is not highly flammable. It also has a high tensile strength and can be stretched more easily than rubber.
- In 1872, the Comstock Act had prohibited interstate commerce in obscene literature and immoral material. Condoms and other forms of birth control fell under the category of “immoral material.” As forbidden material, condoms were rarely advertised openly.
- However, during the early twentieth century, rising concerns about gonorrhea and syphilis led a growing number of public health advocates to call for condoms to be sold to prevent disease. In 1918, a court case in New York, (The People of the State of New York v Margaret H. Sanger) clarified that physicians could prescribe condoms to prevent disease. Named after Judge Frederick Crane who wrote the opinion in the case, the Crane decision opened the door for condom manufacturers to openly advertise and sell condoms, provided they were sold as a disease preventative.
- These condoms were distributed by Chandler Distributors which also sold Co-Ed condoms. By selling their condoms only to drug stores, Chandler Distributors were able to underscore the legitimacy of their product and to charge higher prices. The claim that the condoms were "tested thoroughly by perfected electronic machinery" also reassured customers that the condoms had no rips or tears unlike cheaper condoms which were often sold on the street.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- maker
- Chandler Distributors
- date made
- ca 1930s-1950s
- Measurements
- overall: .6 cm x 5.2 cm x 4 cm; 1/4 in x 2 1/16 in x 1 9/16 in
- overall: 2 1/8 in x 1 5/8 in x 3/8 in; 5.3975 cm x 4.1275 cm x .9525 cm
- Object Name
- Condom
- contraceptive, condom
