The history of the contraceptive sheath
Guyotjeannin, C.
Contraception Fertilite Sexualite 12(6): 847-851
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0301-861X PMID: 12313178 Document Number: 237131
The condom, effective in preventing both pregnancy and venereal disease, had a limited role until the 19th century, when its use spread through all social strata. The 1st condoms may have been linen sheaths designed to protect against syphilis. A 16th century Neapolitan doctor provided a recipe for an antiseptic preparation to be applied for 4-5 hourrs, but after intercourse had occurred. A physician to Louis XV mentioned the condom in a book published in 1736, and in 1770 the condom was again described without being named. 4 yeears later it was again described and called the condom or English redingote. Later it was mentioned by the Marques de Sade, who alluded to its contraceptive effect. In the early 19th century, condoms made of sheep entrails were mentioned. Descriptions of the preparation of 3 grades of condom, regular, fine, and superfine, were later found. The discovery of the process of vulcanization of rubber in 1839 made possible more solid, marketable, and usable latex condoms. The condom apparently began to be used in the late 17th or early 18th century. Some authors state that it was invented by a Dr. Condom or Conton, a physician or knight in the court of Charls II of England. Othrs suggested that it was named after the city of Condom in Gascony or derived from a foreign word. The antivenereal disease qualities of condoms were described by Casanova and Gustave Flaubert, and other references to them may be found in the literature. Later the contraceptive use of the condom became progressively more common, beginning in the wealthier classes and spreading to the rural and lower classes perhaps by the later 18th century. The diffusion of contraception during the 19th century was cited as the cause of th slow decline in illegitimacy rates starting at the end of the century. The Church condemned the use of condoms for contraception, but the medical profession took a less hostile view due to their health function. At the present time, condoms are widely used. 50 million units were sold in France in 1972, and 1 out of 3 Frenchmen had used the method. 150 million were sold in Germany in 1974, somewhat fewer in England, and 4 times more in the US.