Merry Widows Condom Tin- Western Science Center, CA
Although innocent at first glance, this tin held a society-disrupting, scientifically revolutionary invention: condoms. Prophylactics had been around since syphilis first hit Europe in the 1500s, but they weren’t widely used until the discovery of vulcanized rubber in 1844. The Merry Widows was a popular condom brand in the early 20th century. Tins could be bought for fifty cents (later one dollar) and contained three reusable condoms.
The lack of reference to the product was purposeful, as the U. S. sexual morality Comstock Laws restricted condom sales. As a result, manufacturers used euphemisms to conceal the purpose of their product.. The tins were eventually redesigned to feature the names of the three widows: Agnes, Mabel, and Beckie. The brand was so ubiquitous, it was referenced in William Faulkner’s 1929 novel The Sound and the Fury.
Condoms were not widely discussed in the 1920s and 30s, when the Merry Widows were at the height of their influence. Therefore, the tins show up in odd places; a cache of 70 were buried in a yard in St. Paul, Minnesota, while another was discovered with a whiskey bottle in a bathroom wall in Maryland. The origin of this tin is uncertain.
