Ovral Oral Contraceptive
date: label: date made
content: ca 1968
name: label: maker
content: Wyeth Laboratories
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: Wyeth Laboratories Inc. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, produced this Ovral brand oral contraceptive around 1968. The 21 pills are in a blister pack that is inserted into a white plastic holder. The holder has the days of the week embossed around the perimeter. The pills come with a carrying sleeve decorated with flowers and a butterfly. This box of physician’s samples includes 6 blister packs that were used as refills for the white plastic dispenser.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
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: Gift of Margaret Sanger Center
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1982.0531.044
label: accession number
content: 1982.0531
label: catalog number
content: 1982.0531.044
objectType: label: Object Name
content: contraceptive, oral
label: Other Terms
content: Contraceptives; Patent Medicines; Drugs; Non-Liquid
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: norgestrol, 0.5 mg (drug active ingredients)
label: Physical Description
content: ethinyl estradiol, 0.05 mg (drug active ingredients)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 15.1 cm x 4.8 cm x 5.8 cm; 5 15/16 in x 1 7/8 in x 2 5/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall, box: 6 1/8 in x 1 7/8 in x 2 7/8 in; 15.5575 cm x 4.7625 cm x 7.3025 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall, pill pack: 2 1/8 in x 5 5/8 in x 1/4 in; 5.3975 cm x 14.2875 cm x .635 cm