Sheik Rubber Prophylactics
date: label: date made
content: ca 1930s - 1950s
name: label: maker
content: Julius Schmid, Inc.
notes: label: Description
content: This tin of rolled Sheik brand condoms made by Julius Schmid Inc. was part of a package sent to druggists for sale during the 1930s.
label: Description
content: Sheik condoms derived their name and imagery from the best-selling novel and wildly popular film, The Sheik (1921). Both the film and novel centered on the subjugation and rape of a Western woman by a stereotypical Arabic sheik. In sharp contrast to how viewers today see the film and its plot, The Sheik played to sold-out audiences across the country. Rudolph Valentino, who played the title role, became Hollywood’s first sex symbol. There’s no evidence that Valentino used or even directly promoted Sheik condoms but the simple suggestion of his association with the product underscored the idea that great lovers used Sheik condoms.
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: Throughout most of the twentieth century, Julius Schmid, Inc. dominated the condom market. An immigrant from Germany, Schmid was one of the first American manufacturers to use “cold-cure cement” technique to make condoms. Workers at his factory dipped a glass mold into liquified rubber to create a sheath. The sheath was then vulcanized or hardened at a high temperature, enabling it to retain its shape.
label: Description
content: Schmid’s condoms were not only standardized, they were also tested to ensure that they had no tears or holes. While cheap untested condoms were often sold on the street, Schmid made a point to sell his more expensive condoms in drug stores, a tactic which underscored his claim that his condoms were sold “only for protection against disease.” Aggressive marketing, combined with Schmid’s ability to move quickly when laws regulating condom manufacturing and distribution changed, were central to the company’s success.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: Louisiana, Saint Martinville
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: The Fournet Drugstore Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1985.0475.153
label: catalog number
content: 1985.0475.153
label: accession number
content: 1985.0475
objectType: label: Object Name
content: condoms
label: Object Name
content: contraceptive, condom
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: tin (case material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (condom material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (sleeve material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5.3 cm x 4 cm x .5 cm; 2 1/16 in x 1 9/16 in x 3/16 in
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 3/4 in x 2 1/8 in x 1/4 in; 4.445 cm x 5.3975 cm x .635 cm