3 Merry Widows
date: label: date made
content: Mid-20th century
notes: label: Description
content: This round tin held three Merry Widow condoms. During the early twentieth century, the term “Merry Widow” was commonly used to imply a sexually experienced and independent woman (the term “merry” traditionally had a sexual connotation). Some Merry Widow tins, although not this one, actually named the three “Merry Widows” as "Agnes, Mabel, [and] Beckie." During the 1920s and 1930s, the Merry Widow brand was so popular that the term “Merry Widow” became slang for a condom.
label: Description
content: Merry Widow condoms were tested to ensure that they had no tears or holes. Because testing was an expensive process, a tin of three Merry Widow condoms sold for a dollar. In contrast, untested condoms were often sold on the street for pennies.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Birth Control/Contraception
label: Subject
content: Sex
label: Subject
content: Sexually Transmitted Diseases
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: 1989.0416.065
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0416.065
label: accession number
content: 1989.0416
objectType: label: Object Name
content: contraceptive, condom case
label: Object Name
content: condom, case
label: Other Terms
content: contraceptive, condom case; Contraceptive Devices
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: aluminum (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5/8 in x 1 5/8 in; x 1.5875 cm x 4.1275 cm