Did you know Cleveland has a History of Conception exhibit right here in town? Taking up a large gallery in the Dittrick Museum of Medical History at Case Western Reserve University, it’s the largest, most comprehensive collection of historical contraceptives in the world.

Photos courtesy of the Dittrick Museum of Medical History

Birth control containers
Carbolic acid sprayer (c. 1885) used for antisepsis.
Cupping set and scarificator (c. 1860) to relieve humoral imbalances and improve health.
Destructive instruments used to terminate an obstructed labor, c. 1865.
Disease-preventing prophylactic issued to U.S. soldiers during WWI.
Diverse formulations and packaging of birth control pill products.
Inside the gallery
Guide to reproduction and fertility. Hollick, 1860.
Methods of Family Planning model
Pamphlet on the manipulation of the ovulation cycle (c. 1932).
Popular advertisement for invigorating Parker’s Tonic (c. 1880).
Popular advertising on condom tins, 1930-1950.
The progression of pregnancy. Spratt, 1848.
Cervical devices
Types of Cesarean incisions. Bourgery, 1830.

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