Kargston Aquapac
date: label: date made
content: after 1941
label: date made
content: ca 1941-1950s
name: label: collection
content: Reid Drugstore
label: maker
content: F.G. Karg
notes: label: Description
content: This Kargston Aquapac condom was manufactured by the F.G. Karg Company of Chicago, Illinois during the middle of the 20th century. The condom came in a light blue cardboard sheath, inside was a hermetically sealed plastic pouch that contained a condom immersed in a liquid that served as a lubricant and antiseptic. Prior to this, condoms often had to be dipped in water after they were unwrapped, but the Aquapac made it “ready for instant use.” The interior and reverse of the sheath contained directions for use.
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. Reflecting this decision, this condom included information that noted that the condom was sold “for protection against the communication of disease.”
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Illinois, Chicago
topic: label: associated subject; web subject
content: Birth Control/Contraception
label: associated subject; web subject
content: Sexually Transmitted Diseases
label: Subject
content: Sex
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Blanche E. Reid
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1984.0351.273
label: accession number
content: 1984.0351
label: catalog number
content: 1984.0351.273
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Condom
label: Object Name
content: contraceptive, condom
label: Other Terms
content: Condom; Medical Preparation; Prophylactic; ?; Contraceptives; Drugs
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 7/8 in x 2 3/4 in x 5/8 in; 4.7625 cm x 6.985 cm x 1.5875 cm