Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Collection
Category
Nursing
Nursing Uniforms
Classification
Nursing
Nursing Uniforms
Accession Number
995002065
Description
Starched, unfolded white cotton nurse's cape; cap is a half oval of single-thickness cloth with an attached band (brim) of double-thickness cloth which is straight top and bottom and pointed at both sides
Starched, unfolded white cotton nurse's cape; cap is a half oval of single-thickness cloth with an attached band (brim) of double-thickness cloth which is straight top and bottom and pointed at both sides
Number Of Parts
1
Dates
1924
1960
circa 1924-1960
Date Remarks
Based on other caps of the same style in the Museum's collection.
Material
fabric: white
Inscriptions
Marked in ink: "24-42"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007-V1-4 Box 2
Length
38.3 cm
Width
44.5 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length: 38.3 cm. x Width: 44.5 cm.
Condition Remarks
The cloth has three yellow stains on the brim (tape residue ?); there are also minor smudges and spots on the rest of the cap; in several spots there are small holes in the cloth - likely a result of having been pinned; the cloth is quite stable overall; the number "24-42" has been marked on in ink which has faded (still legible)
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Websites
Reference Comments
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
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' caps in Canada changed and evolved over the years, with caps resembling a nun's coif used by military Nursing Sisters and as a reminder of Roman Catholic nursing tradition. Older nurses' caps were styled similarly to caps that female domestic servants wore, and were made to cover the head and keep hair neat. These evolved into highly starched symbolic nurses' caps which perched on the top or near the back of the head. Nurses' caps were white, and usually cut from a flat pattern that could be folded and unfolded for starching and cleaning. The nurse's cap began to disappear in the 1970s as nursing education moved from hospitals to colleges and nurses wanted to be identified more closely with doctors and other medical professionals who wore no uniform.