Ovulen-20 Oral Contraceptive
date: label: date made
content: ca 1978
name: label: maker
content: G. D. Searle and Company
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: The popularity of “the Pill” created a new market for pharmaceutical companies. For the first time, healthy women would be taking medication for an extended period of time. Pill manufacturers developed unique packaging in order to distinguish their product from those of their competitors and build brand loyalty. Packaging design often incorporated a “memory aid” to assist women in tracking their daily pill regimen, as well as styled cases to allow pills to be discreetly carried in bags and purses. The National Museum of American History’s Division of Medicine and Science’s collection of oral contraceptives illustrates some of the changes that the packaging and marketing of the Pill underwent from its inception in 1960 to the present.
label: Description (Brief)
content: G. D. Searle and Company of Chicago, Illinois, produced this Ovulen-20 brand oral contraceptive around 1978. The 20-pill blister pack is in a trademarked Compack plastic case. The days of the week are written in silver around the rim of the Compack, with three pills descending to the center under each day except Saturday, which has only two pills. This object was donated to the Museum as a dispenser that fell under the claims of David Wagner’s patent (seen in object 1995.0057.01).
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Illinois, Chicago
topic: label: Subject
content: Birth Control/Contraception
label: Subject
content: Women's Health
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Health & Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Birth Control
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: David P. Wagner
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1995.0057.04
label: catalog number
content: 1995.0057.04
label: accession number
content: 1995.0057
objectType: label: Object Name
content: medication dispenser
label: Object Name
content: contraceptive, oral
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (container material)
label: Physical Description
content: foil (container material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .7 cm x 8.3 cm; 1/4 in x 3 1/4 in
label: Measurements
content: overall: 3/8 in x 3 1/2 in x 3 3/8 in; .9525 cm x 8.89 cm x 8.5725 cm