Short L100
date: label: date made
content: ca 1955
label: date made
content: ca 1950s
notes: label: Description
content: This metal L100 vending machine was made by White’s Comb Vendor, Incorporated of Elgin, Illinois around 1955. The machine dispensed a condom for a quarter. At the top of the machine is a white label with the image of a policeman. The policeman holds up his hand. The text below the policeman reads “STOP V.D.” On the left hand side, black text reads “This MACHINE IS PLACED HERE AS A PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE…SOLD FOR THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE ONLY.”
label: Description
content: 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 existing penal codes allowed physicians to 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.
label: Description
content: Vending machines such as this one became an easy way to discreetly distribute effective condoms.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Illinois, Elgin
topic: label: Subject
content: Birth Control/Contraception
label: Subject
content: Sexually Transmitted Diseases
label: Subject
content: Sex
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1989.0416.004
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0416.004
label: accession number
content: 1989.0416
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Vending Machine, Condom
label: Other Terms
content: Vending Machine, Condom; Manufacturing And Dispensing Equipment
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: steel; paint; paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 14 1/2 in x 8 in x 4 3/4 in; 36.83 cm x 20.32 cm x 12.065 cm