Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Collection
Category
Nursing
Nursing Uniforms
Classification
Nursing
Nursing Uniforms
Accession Number
995002003 a-f
Description
1906-style reproduction nurse's uniform with accessories; white cotton long-sleeved one-piece dress; floor length; red cross to right sleeve; red band around skirt bottom; bib and long apron cover dress; stiff collar fastened at back with studs; stiffly starched belt; stiff winged pleated cap.
1906-style reproduction nurse's uniform with accessories; white cotton long-sleeved one-piece dress; floor length; red cross to right sleeve; red band around skirt bottom; bib and long apron cover dress; stiff collar fastened at back with studs; stiffly starched belt; stiff winged pleated cap.
Replica created by Kingston General Hospital Nurses Alumnae Association; created to look like a 1906-style nurse's uniform.
Material
fabric: white; red
ink: blue
Inscriptions
Individual pieces marked with "1906" and some with two blue "X"'s
Permanent Location
(a) Storage Room 0007, BOX 4;
(b) Storage Room 0007, BOX 14;
(c) Storage Room 0007, BOX 8;
(d) Storage Room 0007, BOX 2;
(e) Storage Room 0007, BOX 15;
(f) Storage Room 0007
0010-C5-4
0007 Closet C
Temporary Location
To exhibit: "For Service to Humanity", Nursing Gallery: Showcase East, Museum of Health Care, 13 Nov. 2008.
Condition Remarks
Overall condition good; white cotton slightly yellowed
Copy Type
Replica
Reference Types
Person
Book
Photo
Websites
Reference Comments
Marilyn Boston; Paul Robertson; reference book compiled: "Information Re Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing Uniforms" to document the collection of uniforms; further references are noted within; numerous photos available at Queen's Archives, see Museum's Index
Canadian Museum of History, "Symbol of a Profession: One Hundred Years of Nurses' Caps," https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/infirm/inint01e.html
"For Service to Humanity: Nursing Education at Kingston General Hospital," Museum of Health Care. https://www.museumofhealthcare.ca/explore/exhibitions/forservicetohumanity.html
Research Facts
Reproduction uniform made for Kingston General Hospital School of Nurse's Alumnae to represent uniforms that were first worn by Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing students around 1906. This uniform style was in use (with modifications) until around 1924.
Throughout the twentieth century, nurses' uniforms changed, in particular with the rising of hemlines. The nurse's uniform was generally white, and Kingston General Hospital uniforms were once known for "turkey red" hemlines. Different levels of nursing education had different uniforms, in particular different caps, as graduate nurses had black bands on their caps to indicate their level of education.