A rectangular embroidered panel; made on white fabric; has an 8-line poem printed on it with scenes above and below the poem, including a man in a hat with a donkey, and a person driving a horse and wagon; there is a green floral pattern border.
A rectangular embroidered panel; made on white fabric; has an 8-line poem printed on it with scenes above and below the poem, including a man in a hat with a donkey, and a person driving a horse and wagon; there is a green floral pattern border.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Was given to the donor by Mrs. Helen Glasgow James (Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1910); Glasgow received it from a soldier who she cared for in World War I who made it while he was recovering (he is believed to have died).
"There is no friend like an old friend. // Who has shared our morning days, No greeting like his welcome, // No homage like his praise. // Fame is the scentless sunflower // With gaudy crown of gold, // But friendship is the breathing rose // With sweets in every fold." embroidered on the panel
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-C7-13
Temporary Location
To exhibit: "For Service to Humanity", Nursing Gallery: Showcase West, Museum of Health Care, 13 Nov. 2008.
Length
38.8 cm
Width
28.2 cm
Depth
0.2 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 38.8 cm x Width 28.2 cm x Depth 0.2 cm
Condition Remarks
Some discoloration on the material from acid in the frame; the edges have been bent to fit its frame and are very stiff and somewhat brittle.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Internet
Article
Reference Comments
Wikipedia: "Oliver Wendell Holmes"
Thomas Daigle, "Beauty out of pain: Canadian soldiers' embroidery was therapy for the scars of war," CBC, Nov 09, 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/first-world-war-soldiers-altar-cloth-embroidery-1.4895370
Research Facts
Mrs. Glasgow served as a Canadian nursing sister in France during World War I and is believed to have flown with wounded soldiers returning to England; the poem was written by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
In hospitals during World War I, embroidery was taught by women to soldiers as a form of therapy to rebuild their hand coordination and to help them overcome shell shock, or post-traumatic stress disorder.