Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Ring, Spermatorrhea |
Object ID |
1976.0300 |
Description |
Victorian attitudes regarding sex were very conservative at the end of the 19th century. Masturbation (onanism, self-abuse) and nocturnal emissions (spermatorrhea) were recognized as causes of retardation, weakness, visual impairment, and neurologic disorders. Through a Sears catalogue, one could purchase a spermatorrhea ring which would employ sharp spikes to discourage the user at the appropriate time during sleep. 1. Patent No. 22,796 (Feb 1, 1859). Dwight Gibbons, Rochester, NY Gibbon’s "Spermatic Ring" may not look like much, but when it comes to the penis’s pain receptors, sometimes the most terrible things come in small packages. Here’s how Gibbons explained the logistical aspects of his austere anti-semen creation: To apply the instrument the springs are adjusted and secured by the screw to make the ring of such size as to make it pass easily over the penis … and so remains until the organ commences to be distended and by its pressure outward against the spring, moves the end of the said spring off the roller and liberates the pin, which is then by the sudden contraction of the spring, made to prick the penis with sufficient force to produce pain enough to wake the patient. There were some kinks in the operating system, however, that later inventors sought to improve upon. Here’s one: the design didn’t easily accommodate penises of different sizes, so if you were an especially endowed male, that painful "prick" meant to shake you out of your erotic somnambulism was more like a serious puncture wound. And another problem that came to light only after the fact: for a lot of men, the mere act of putting the spermatic ring on tended to cause, not stifle, erections. |
Collection |
William P. Didusch Museum Collection |
Date |
1910 |
Artist/Designer |
United States |
Source |
Kutzmann, Adolf |