A stiffly-starched white cuff of fine cotton rolled and pinned with a mother-of-pearl cufflink; cuff is single-stitched at top and bottom and both sides; cufflink has two heads and is pinned in the middle where the two edges of the cuff join
A stiffly-starched white cuff of fine cotton rolled and pinned with a mother-of-pearl cufflink; cuff is single-stitched at top and bottom and both sides; cufflink has two heads and is pinned in the middle where the two edges of the cuff join
Number Of Parts
2
Part Names
a - cuff - Size: Length 12.6 cm. x Width 9.8 cm. x Depth 6.7 cm.
b - cufflink - Size: Length 2.6 cm. x Width 1.5 cm. x Depth 0.5 cm. x Diameter1.5 cm.
Provenance
Owned and used by Nora Valleau, Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing graduate Class of 1928.
Dates
1925
1928
circa 1925-1928
Date Remarks
Used with Kingston General Hospital nursing uniforms; Valleau attended Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing 1925-1928.
Material
fabric: white
nacre: white
metal: silver
Inscriptions
"N" stamped on inside bottom corner of the cuff's inside
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-C6-3
Condition Remarks
Minimal surface marking centered near each cuffling hole; some chipping on edges of cufflink
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Document
Article
Websites
Reference Comments
"Information Re KGH Nursing Uniforms" 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
Andrea Melvin, “Badges of Honour or Devices of Control?: Nursing Uniforms at Kingston General Hospital Training School for Nurses,” Dr. Margaret Angus Research Fellowship, 2008. Museum of Health Care at Kingston.
Research Facts
Starched cuffs were worn with all uniforms until 1967; fastened with cufflinks (Valleau's are mother-of-pearl); 996.028.077a-b and .078a-b belong together as a pair.
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. Nurse’s uniforms had many elements, and some had detachable collars, bibs, and cuffs. Nurses would often remove their cuffs when they got in the way of tasks, but would put them immediately back on when superiors or the public were around.