Black felted wool nurse's cape (a) with red cotton lining and inside coin pocket on the left-hand facing; two piece construction; silver metal chain at back neck to hang cape; long lined facing attached inside at chest height for wind protection; fastens with two self fabric tabs (b, c) attached by…
Black felted wool nurse's cape (a) with red cotton lining and inside coin pocket on the left-hand facing; two piece construction; silver metal chain at back neck to hang cape; long lined facing attached inside at chest height for wind protection; fastens with two self fabric tabs (b, c) attached by two black plastic 1.7 cm buttons on each tab at chest; mandarin collar fastens with two hook and eyes with H. D. H. in gold machine embroidery on both sides; length from center back to hem 94.0 cm; width of hem 2.20 m.
Number Of Parts
3
Part Names
a – cape – Size: Length 94.0 cm x Width 1.03 m x Depth 0.5 cm
b – tab – Size: Length 14.0 cm x Width 5.0 cm x Depth 0.3 cm
c – tab – Size: Length 14.0 cm x Width 5.0 cm x Depth 0.3 cm
Provenance
Owned and used by Sue (Etmanski) Wight; donated to museum by Glennis Zilm
"H.D.H" is embroidered on both sides of collar; " CORBETT- COWLEY // LIMITED // TORONTO AND MONTREAL" is woven into fabric label inside left facing; "ETMANSKI" is written in ink inside label at back neck.
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010 Closet
Condition Remarks
Like new
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
Sue (Etmanski) Wight is a graduate of the St. Joseph's School of Nursing for Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston from 1948-1951.
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.