This reusable condom dates from the 1950s. Condom manufacturing was revolutionised by the invention of rubber vulcanisation by Charles Goodyear (founder of the Goodyear tyre company) and Thomas Hancock in 1844. This made it possible to mass-produce rubber goods, including condoms, quickly and cheaply. Vulcanisation turns rubber into a strong elastic material. However, the rubber on finer condoms tended to perish on the sea journey to New Zealand. Thicker condoms such as this one were more reliable but less comfortable to wear.
Courtesy of Family Planning, Dame Margaret Sparrow Collection
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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Marguerite Hill
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