A nurse's apron made from white cotton; wraps around the waist.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Used by Doreen Appleton Mainse; the hem was lengthened in the mid-50s when dress styles changed, students were not supposed to, but they wanted to be fashionable.
Dates
1952
1955
circa 1952-1955
Date Remarks
Donor's remarks.
Material
fabric: white
Inscriptions
"DOREEN APPLETON" printed on a tag sewn in the waist
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007 Closet I
Length
172.0 cm
Width
80.0 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 172.0 cm x Width 80.0
Condition Remarks
Slightly yellowed; some staining.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Websites
Reference Comments
Doreen Appleton Mainse
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
Doreen Appleton (maiden name) attended Queen's Nursing Science School from 1951-1952, Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing from 1952-1955, and Queen's again from 1955-1956; she worked at Ongwanada Sanatorium in the summer of 1956, and at Public Health in Napanee and at schools etc. in the late 1950s; she worked part time during the 1960s at Kingston General Hospital and did not work from the late 1960s until 1977 when she returned part time to Kingston General Hospital; she also worked at the Fraser Armstrong Patient Center from 1979-1992, and at a doctor's office until she retired in 1996.
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.