Fabric nurse's uniform dress, with thin blue and white vertical stripes. Amid these stripes is a pattern which recurs over the dress: the letters "HHM", for the Homeopathic Hospital of Montreal. The uniform reaches down to about mid-calf on the wearer, and has a pocket in the skirt on the left side…
Fabric nurse's uniform dress, with thin blue and white vertical stripes. Amid these stripes is a pattern which recurs over the dress: the letters "HHM", for the Homeopathic Hospital of Montreal. The uniform reaches down to about mid-calf on the wearer, and has a pocket in the skirt on the left side, and a breast pocket on the right side. It does up in the front by lage white buttons, which are hidden by a flap of fabric; one small white button can be seen where the top and skirt meet. There is a label at the top back inside of the dress, and it reads "Made by Bland Montreal 32", and a smaller label above reads in blue "S. Friendly". There is a small piece of fabric sticking up from the back of the dress at the top with a white button sewn onto it.
The Homeopathic Hospital of Montreal changed its name to the Queen Elizabeth hospital of Montreal in 1951, and the style of uniform (short sleeves and shorter skirt) suggests it was made in the 1940s.
Material
Fabric: blue; white
thread: white
clasp: metal
buttons: white
Inscriptions
Pattern on dress: "HHM"
Label: "Made By // BLAND // MONTREAL 32"
Upper label: "S. FRIENDLY"
Temporary Location
On exhibit “Selling Hope: A History of the Medical Marketplace” at Museum of Health Care, 29 June 2017.
Length
106.3 cm
Width
42.0 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Width measured at shoulders; width at waist is 38.5 cm; width at hem is 84.0 cm.
Condition Remarks
Slightly stained
Copy Type
original
Reference Types
Letter
Internet
Reference Comments
Letter from Floranna Bryant to the Canadian Nurses Association, 12 April, 1978
The School of Nursing at the Homeopathic Hospital of Montreal was established in 1894 under the name "Phillips' Training School of the Homeopathic Hospital of Montreal". On September 27th, 1951, along with the hospital, the school's name was changed to Queen Elizabeth. It closed in 1972 with 962 graduates. In the late 1800s, there were very struct rules of conduct that student nurses had to obey, as well as rules for patients.