Certane Hygienic Douche Powder

Certane Hygienic Douche Powder

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Description
In 1930, Rosemarie Lewis established the Certane Company to produce "feminine hygiene" products in Los Angeles, California. "Feminine hygiene" was a code term used by marketers for women's contraceptive products at a time when dealing in these products was illegal in most of the U.S. Lewis's first products were antiseptic vaginal jellies and douche powders, but she soon added cervical caps, diaphragms, and vaginal suppositories (cones) to the Certane line. Lewis sold her products through drugstores and other retail outlets and mail-order. She was investigated by the Federal Trade Ccommission (FTC) in 1938 and charged with false and misleading advertising. She was charged again in 1942 by the U.S. Postal Service for conducting unlawful business (selling contraceptives) through the mail. By 1948, Rosemarie Lewis began doing business as the Vogarell Products Company, the maker name on this product. In the 1950's Vogarell added Lanacane skin ointment for acne and Hemex rectal ointment to the product line. Certane douche powder, vaginal jelly, and vaginal suppositories appear to have remained on the market through the 1960s, and Lewis continued to do business as Vogarell into the early 1980s.
Reference: Tone, Andrea. Devices and Desires: A History of Contraceptives in America. New York: Hill and Wang, 2001.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
douche powder
douche powderJelly
Other Terms
Pharmaceuticals; Drugs; Non-Liquid
maker
Vogarell Products Company
place made
United States: California, Los Angeles
Physical Description
boric acid; sodium chloride; sodium sulfo dioctyl succinate; oxyquinoline sulphate (product active ingredients)
metal; paper (container material)
Measurements
overall: 4 5/8 in x 3 1/8 in x 2 1/8 in; 11.7475 cm x 7.9375 cm x 5.3975 cm
ID Number
1979.1144.142
accession number
1979.1144
catalog number
1979.1144.142
Credit Line
Gift of George and Julius Garfield
subject
Women's Health
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Medicine
Health & Medicine
Beauty and Hygiene Products: Feminine Care
Beauty and Health
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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