Rockwood / Kingston Psychiatric Hospital / Providence Continuing Care Centre Collection
Category
Nursing
Nursing Uniforms
Classification
Nursing
Nursing Uniforms
Accession Number
004014019
Description
One-piece long blue and white ticking style striped cotton nurse’s long sleeve uniform with mandarin collar heavy percale style fabric full gathered sleeve at shoulder with white cuffs; cuffs with placket and two 1.5 cm white plastic button closure; bodice front has three pleats on each side of cen…
One-piece long blue and white ticking style striped cotton nurse’s long sleeve uniform with mandarin collar heavy percale style fabric full gathered sleeve at shoulder with white cuffs; cuffs with placket and two 1.5 cm white plastic button closure; bodice front has three pleats on each side of center front and underarm darts; waist and shoulder darts on bodice back; open down front; original double deep 11.0 cm hem let down and additional 8.5 cm faded similar fabric added to create long dress; two piece sleeve construction; mandarin collar with three buttonholes to attach separate starched white collar; six 2.0 cm white plastic button closure; skirt section with hidden button placket for five button holes on dress bodice front (waist seam to neck); four missing shank button with cotter pin; two hidden pockets have fabric loop in right pocket to hold instruments at front hip level; two self fabric belt loops at waist; length of dress from center back to hem 1.30 m; width of skirt hem 1.86 m.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Donated to the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital Historical Collection and donated to Museum by Connie Cox and Linda Reason remaining artifacts from the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital Collection
Maker
Bland
Dates
1930
1950
circa 1930-1950
Date Remarks
Donor information
Material
fabric: blue, white
plastic: white
Inscriptions
"THE BEST IN THE LAND // IS MADE BY // BLAND" is woven into fabric label at back neck
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007 Closet Q
Length
130.0 cm
Width
90.0 cm
Depth
0.5 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 130.0 cm x Width 90.0 cm x Depth 0.5 cm
Condition Remarks
Minor rust stain on right pocket; added band of fabric at hem is faded
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Document
Websites
Reference Comments
Donor's remarks
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
Kingston Psychiatric Hospital originally founded as Rockwood Asylum in 1857; became Ontario Hospital - Kingston in 1920; became Kingston Psychiatric Hospital in 1965; as part of the reform of mental health care in Ontario, facility was renamed the Providence Continuing Care Centre in March 2001.
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.