item details
NameDurex Check Pessary box and cervical caps
ProductionLondon Rubber Company Ltd; manufacturer(s); 1940s-1950s; England
Classificationpersonalia
Materialspaper, cardboard, rubber, string
DimensionsOverall: 60mm (width), 45mm (height), 60mm (depth)
Registration NumberGH022214
Credit lineGift of Dame Margaret Sparrow, 2011
Overview
A cervical cap fits closely over the cervix and is held in place by suction. It acts as a barrier to sperm. A thread aids removal.
Rubber caps were introduced after the vulcanisation of rubber in 1844. In the 1920s, some New Zealand women used rubber barrier methods for birth control, such as the cervical cap and the larger diaphragm (‘Dutch cap’). These devices had to be fitted by a doctor, and generally only middle-class and upper-class women could afford them. Diaphragms were more popular here than cervical caps.