DITTRICK MEDICAL HISTORY CENTER

Reception honors Percy Skuy and Janssen-Ortho Inc. gift to the Dittrick

By Jim Edmonson

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The March 3rd reception at the Allen Library was a resounding success. About seventy five persons showed up to mark the donation of the Percy Skuy Collection on the History of Contraception. I opened the ceremonies by expressing my gratitude on behalf of the Dittrick, and the Case community more generally. The intriguing objects in the collection document an intriguing intersection of science and society, and yet, as Percy learned, many of these items are exceedingly rare for the simple reason that they were intended to be used and discarded. I also thanked Percy for making such a careful search for a new home for the collection. In doing so, he ventured into uncharted territory, the world of medical museums.

I noted that bringing this remarkable collection to Cleveland was decidedly a team effort on both sides. At Janssen-Ortho Inc., and corporate headquarters of Johnson&Johnson, many friends and colleagues had helped Percy collect, catalogue, and display the objects in the Skuy Collection. Similarly, at Case, many parties contributed to the successful bid to acquire the Skuy Collection. From the top ranks to the trenches, there was enthusiastic support for this endeavor, and in the process of articulating our case, we forged new friends and audiences for the Dittrick. Many of those who were a part of this process turned out to honor Percy and to acknowledge the gift made by Janssen-Ortho Inc.

Dean Mark Turner followed with words about the stewardship that has been passed on from Percy to the Dittrick, and what wonderful learning opportunities the arrival of this remarkable collection afforded. He noted that this is just a beginning, and not an end. That is to say, we have great plans to develop a gallery to showcase this collection to the greatest advantage, as it justly deserves. Dean Turner was followed by Michael Bzdak, head of corporate giving of Johnson&Johnson. A longtime friend and colleague of Percy Skuy, Bzdak expressed the satisfaction that the collection had found a home at Case, where it might be the focus of ongoing research, learning, and edification.

Last came the inimitable Percy Skuy, who captivated the audience with his personal thoughts on the meaning of the collection, and his great satisfaction of having found it a welcoming home. He described the difficulties he encountered in finding an accredited appraiser, since no benchmark existed for a collection of this kind. Percy paid particular homage to the remarkable support and guidance he received from various museum staff on whom to approach and in personally opening the doors for his many calls. As a gesture to conclude the evening, Percy presented me with a “Cup of Roots”, crafted by his ceramicist wife Elsa, embodying symbols and iconography drawn from objects in the collection.

The “Cup of Roots” crafted by Elsa Skuy embodies several different forms of contraception, from antiquity to recent times (photo left). Mounted on one side is a crocodile, representing crocodile dung used in ancient Egypt as a vaginal suppository with spermicidal effect. On the other side of the cup are two rings: the Gräfenberg ring, the first modern IUD introduced in 1926 by Dr. Ernst Gräfenberg, and a contemporary vaginal contraceptive ring, like Organon’s NuvaRing (etonogestrel and ethinyl estradiol ring). The stem of the cup is shaped like a dried beaver testicle, which was steeped in alcohol and the resulting brew consumed for its contraceptive qualities by women in New Brunswick, Canada. The base of the cup is shaped in the form of an Ortho DIALPAK ® tablet dispenser, adopted in 1962 by Ortho Pharmaceutical for its first oral contraceptive, Ortho-Novum. Part whimsy, part history, the “Cup of Roots” symbolizes the passing of responsibility for the Percy Skuy Collection on the History of Contraception from Janssen-Ortho Inc. to the Dittrick.