Black and white photographic print depicting three women in full Kingston General Hospital nursing uniforms mounted on a piece of black cardstock framing it on all sides; markings embossed in cardboard in bottom right hand corner.
Black and white photographic print depicting three women in full Kingston General Hospital nursing uniforms mounted on a piece of black cardstock framing it on all sides; markings embossed in cardboard in bottom right hand corner.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Purchased by Paul Robertson, Curator of the Museum of Health Care at the Deseronto Flea Market for use in a nursing exhibit .
Embossed on cardstock: "Boyce // KINGSTON, ONT."; hand written on back: "mother in the centre // Kingston General // 1902-1904 // 2 of her nursing sisters // Caroline Matilda Edinson".
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-G Nursing Binder pg. 8 a
Length
15.0 cm
Width
11.0 cm
Depth
0.1 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 15.0 cm x Width 11.0 cm x Depth 0.1 cm
Condition Remarks
Picture evenly discoloured; shows wear around the corners of the cardstock.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Website
Book
Reference Comments
Kingston Health Sciences Centre website, "KGH School of Nursing," (https://kingstonhsc.ca/kgh-school-nursing)
Andrea Melvin, “Badges of Honour or Devices of Control?: Nursing Uniforms at Kingston General Hospital Training School for Nurses,” Dr. Margaret Angus Research Fellowship, 2008. Museum of Health Care at Kingston.
Research Facts
The first official graduating class of the Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing was in 1888; the school was created in order to educate nurses as the demand for them increased, as well as providing a labour force to the hospital. When the first nurses graduated, they were given a certificate of completion, twenty five dollars, and a nursing medal. Over the years, nurses were sometimes given pins and/or rings or other memorabilia to commemorate their graduation from the school.
Kingston General Hospital had the symbol of the red cross displayed on the sleeves of nursing uniforms, seen as the “international symbol of mercy,” which later became the symbol of the International Red Cross Association. As such, the hospital began embroidering its initials “KGH” onto the cross to distinguish themselves from the Red Cross.