Felted short grey moleskin wool nurse's cape (a) with grey satin / polyester lining; fastens with two grey wool tabs (b, c) attached by two grey and white mother of pearl 2.4 cm buttons on each shaped tab at the chest; mandarin collar; fastens with three hook and eyes down the front; two piece cons…
Felted short grey moleskin wool nurse's cape (a) with grey satin / polyester lining; fastens with two grey wool tabs (b, c) attached by two grey and white mother of pearl 2.4 cm buttons on each shaped tab at the chest; mandarin collar; fastens with three hook and eyes down the front; two piece construction with center back seam and with shoulder darts for shaping; length from center back to hem 79.3 cm; hem width 3.13 m.
Number Of Parts
3
Part Names
a – cape– Size: Length 79.3 cm x Width 1.36 m x Depth 1.1 cm
b – tab – Size: Length 15.0 cm x Width 4.5 cm x Depth 0.3 cm
c – tab – Size: Length 15.0 cm x Width 4.5 cm x Depth 0.3 cm
Provenance
Owned and used by Alice Goff; donated to museum by daughter's friend Ann Geddes
Dates
1921
1931
circa 1921-1931
Date Remarks
Date based of date of graduation
Material
fabric: grey
metal: black
mother of pearl: grey, white
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010 Closet X
Condition Remarks
Small minor moth hole near right shoulder
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Document
Websites
Article
Reference Comments
Donor information
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
Mallory Warner, “Where is the missing piece of lining in this U.S. Navy nurse's cape?,” April 5, 2017. National Museum of American History, https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/us-navy-nurses-cape
Research Facts
Alice Goff is a graduate of the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, Class of 1926.
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.
Nurses’ capes were an important part of the nurse’s uniform, and became a symbol of nursing and care in their own right outside of the rest of the uniform. The Red Cross, like Kingston General Hospital, lined the inside of their nurses’ capes with red, and the symbol of the red lined cape was used in recruiting posters for nurses during World War I, making the nurse look heroic. Nurses serving with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War also wore woollen cloaks, predecessors of the nursing cape. For many women, the cape was part of their identity as nurses.