Silver Gelatin Photo of Women Nurses, C. 1900

Nursing, Women's Employment

Original Photo

Silver gelatin photo of nurses in uniform posed in operating room. C. 1900. Measures 8" x 11" inches. Photo shows 25 women arranged in three rows with 3 men standing behind them. The nurses wear long white smocks over gray dresses with white cuffs and small white hats perched on their heads. Their bodies are turned toward the camera but their gazes wander about the room with some looking directly into the camera but others looking elsewhere. Three men in lab coats with black ties visible beneath stand behind them, gazing over the women's heads toward the camera. Surgical equipment in the form of two large metal barrels connected by pipes stand against the wall behind the group in the room with tiled floor and subway tiles running floor to ceiling. Nursing in the early twentieth century was one of the few professional fields available to women, though opportunities for advancement were rare. In addition to working with patients, nurses were required to change and launder linens, prepare meals, scrub the floors and order supplies. Still, the number of women who became nurses rose rapidly through the early twentieth century. Photo is mounted to black photographer's board with "Compliments of...Massey Ltd 235 Yonge st" on verso. The women's names are written in neat rows in pencil on verso. The women in this photo were pioneers in a field they would come to dominate.

Item #18100

Price: $155.00