Harmon Vial; "Reservoir Latex Rubber Prophylactics"
date: label: date made
content: 1940s-1950s
name: label: maker
content: Harmon Machine Co.
notes: label: Description
content: This white metal vending machine was produced by the Harmon Machine Company of Wichita, Kansas. The machine sold condoms during the 1940s and 1950s.
label: Description
content: The label on the machine reads “Reservoir Latex Rubber Prophylactics/Insist on the Genuine Protext Super-Thin Vial Pack/An exceptionally fine quality of liquid latex specifically processed to produce an especially thin, clear and gentle texture prophylactic of superior strength/KNOCKOUT V.D.! Thousands die annually as a result of venereal disease. Additional thousands suffer loss of sight and lifetime crippling. Hundreds of thousands of cases of V. D. are reported annually while many more walk the streets unreported and untreated. THIS MACHINE IS PLACED HERE AS A PUBLIC SERVICE!/ Rolled/ Transparent/ Super-Thin/Vial of 3/50¢/Sold, Intended and to be used for the prevention of disease only/A Product of National Sanitary Sales, Chicago Il.”
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: Location
content: Currently not on view
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: 1989.0416.002
label: accession number
content: 1989.0416
label: catalog number
content: 1989.0416.002
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)