Ortho-Novum Oral Contraceptive
Ortho-Novum Oral Contraceptive
Previous
Next
Usage conditions apply
- Description (Brief)
- 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 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.
- The Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation of Raritan, New Jersey, produced this oral contraceptive around 1965. The monthly dose of 21 yellow pills are contained in Ortho’s trademarked DialPak dispenser. The DialPak, introduced in 1963, was the first oral contraceptive package to incorporate a “memory aid” and Ortho advertised it as “the package that remembers for her.” The center wheel of the DialPak reveals the day of the week and aligns with a pill on the outer ring. When the user turned the dial to dispense the next pill, the wheel in the center advanced a day, allowing the user to see if she had taken her pill. The manufacturer's label is missing from this object.
- Object Name
- contraceptive, oral
- date made
- ca 1965
- maker
- Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation
- Physical Description
- plastic (packaging material)
- Measurements
- overall: 8.6 cm x 7.6 cm x.8 cm; 3 3/8 in x 3 in x 5/16 in
- overall: 3/8 in x 3 3/8 in x 3 in;.9525 cm x 8.5725 cm x 7.62 cm
- ID Number
- 2000.0090.09
- accession number
- 2000.0090
- catalog number
- 2000.0090.09
- Credit Line
- Gift of Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Company, Inc.
- subject
- Birth Control/Contraception
- Women's Health
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Medicine
- Health & Medicine
- Birth Control
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.
