Rockwood / Kingston Psychiatric Hospital / Providence Continuing Care Centre Collection
Category
Nursing
Nursing Uniforms
Classification
Nursing
Nursing Uniforms
Accession Number
004014020
Description
White cotton gathered nurse's apron overwraps around at back waist; 8.0 cm. waistband with row of raised mini dots on inside of band possibly for keeping blouse tucked in; two pairs of 43.0 cm white twill ties at waist for closure; 10.7 cm hem on the front; skirt length 94.9 cm; hem width 2.13 m.
White cotton gathered nurse's apron overwraps around at back waist; 8.0 cm. waistband with row of raised mini dots on inside of band possibly for keeping blouse tucked in; two pairs of 43.0 cm white twill ties at waist for closure; 10.7 cm hem on the front; skirt length 94.9 cm; hem width 2.13 m.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Linda Reason, Manager, Clinical Support Services, Mental Health Services site of the Providence Continuing Care Centre; remaining artifacts from the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital Historical Collection
Dates
1930
1950
circa 1930-1950
Date Remarks
Donor information
Material
fabric: white
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007 Closet I
Length
94.9 cm
Width
120.0 cm
Depth
0.4 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 94.9 cm x Width 120.0 cm x Depth 0.4 cm
Condition Remarks
Like new; except for area on bottom by back opening has a series of spatters of brown dots and one 1.2 cm. brown stain
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
Apron is part of a student nurse's uniform. 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.