A nurse's navy blue woolen cape with red wool lining; cape fastens with one black button at the throat and a hook and eye on the collar; collar is mandarin style and is initialled on the outside right side with "KGH" in blue thread; name tag and manufacturer's tag are hand-stitched into the back of…
A nurse's navy blue woolen cape with red wool lining; cape fastens with one black button at the throat and a hook and eye on the collar; collar is mandarin style and is initialled on the outside right side with "KGH" in blue thread; name tag and manufacturer's tag are hand-stitched into the back of the inside collar; braided cotton loop stitched over manufacturer's tag used for hanging cape; please see attached sketch.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Owned and used by Nora Valleau, Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing graduate Class of 1928.
Would have been worn by Valleau during her nursing studies from 1925-1928
Material
fabric: blue; red; black
metal: yellow
plastic: black
Inscriptions
In collar: "Nora M. Valleau" "Made by // LAC MAC // London, Can."; on collar: "K.G.H."
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010 Closet
Length
104.0 cm
Width
152.0 cm
Depth
0.3 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 104.0 cm x Width 152.0 cm x Depth 0.3 cm
Condition Remarks
Nine moth holes in blue wool, two moth holes in red wool; threadbare in several other areas; all outside seams are worn; black lining on inside of collar is worn through on left top corner and in four visible spots along top edge at back of collar around name tag; black lining also has a 7 cm threadbare area in a diagonal from the lower to the top edge on the right side; thread around the buttonhole has come loose; woven cotton loop is loose at each end; there is evidence that the loop has come off before and was repaired by hand; several small black dots (?) evident on red wool at left bottom edge where cape opens; none of the damage is major and the cape is stable
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Document
Websites
Reference Comments
"Information Re KGH Nursing Uniforms" by Marilyn Boston; "KGH Nursing Alumni Memorabilia" by Marilyn Boston
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
The woolen cape was instituted by Ann Baillie for the nurses at Kingston General Hospital to wear when they went out (1924); another version of the cape has "KGH" embroidered in gold thread.
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.