White cotton long-sleeved nurse's uniform dress with a red cross patch machine-embroidered with white letters "K G H" sewn to the proper right shoulder; nylon maker's tag and two cotton name tags sewn inside the collar; the cuffs and front of the dress have buttonholes, one plastic sew-through butt…
White cotton long-sleeved nurse's uniform dress with a red cross patch machine-embroidered with white letters "K G H" sewn to the proper right shoulder; nylon maker's tag and two cotton name tags sewn inside the collar; the cuffs and front of the dress have buttonholes, one plastic sew-through button present at the centre waist.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Owned by Anna I. Davis; donated to museum by nephew Leath Davis.
Maker
Bland
Dates
1919
1922
circa 1919-1922
Date Remarks
Based on graduation date of Anna I. Davis in 1922.
Material
fabric: red; white; blue; black
plastic: white
Inscriptions
The maker's label reads "THE BEST IN THE LAND // IS MADE BY // Bland"; "KGH" is embroidered in white across the red cross; the name tags read, "ANNA I. DAVIS"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007 Closet A
Length
112.5 cm
Width
55.0 cm
Depth
0.1 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
Length 112.5 cm x Width 55.0 cm x Depth 0.1 cm
Condition Remarks
#1: Only slight signs of wear; no rips in seams or fabric; uniform was wrinkled
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Website
Reference Comments
Leath Davis
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
Anna I. Davis (born 1900) graduated from Kingston General Hospital School of Nursing in 1922 and was later assistant director of the school. She retired in 1965. Sister to Mildred and Elsie.
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.