Art and Handcraft in the Woman's Building
of the World's Columbian Exposition

BRITISH NURSES’ EXHIBIT. THERE is no more important and, I believe, no more interest- ing exhibit in the Woman’s Building than that made by the British Royal Commission on professional nursing. The pleasant room leading- from the gallery in which the exhibit is installed is graced by a portrait of Her Majesty the Queen, which bears her signature. A portrait of H. R. H. Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, and one of the Princess Helena, find a place near by. Ths Quesn is a patron of th© Jubilee Institute for Nurses, while the Princess Helena is president of the Royal British Nurses’ Association. The interest taken by these august per- sonages is a very real one, and is shared by many of our most- distinguished women. Though we must consider that Sarah Gamp was, peihaps, an exceptionally ignorant type of nurse, it must be admitted that in drawing her character Dickens can not be accused of having made ! a caricature. How different a class of woman is now intrusted with the sacred task of nursing the sick, one has but to examine the exhibit to realize. The neat, suitable uniforms of the British nurses, the appliances they use, the various inventions they ha\ e made for the sick-room, can not fail to prove to the most careless observer that the profession to which these things appertain is both, honorable and scientific. Attention is called to the medical and surgical dressings, the bandages and belts ananged. by Mrs. Walter Lakin, the hygienic clothing for nurses made by Miss Franks, the splints padded by nurses, the model of a hygienic room for the instruction of nurses designed by Mrs. Lionel Pridgin Teale, the nurse’s toilet basket and the glass appliances for sterilized surgical dressings designed by Mrs. Bedford-Fenwick. The sur- gical models, designed and made by sister Marion Turnball of the London. Homeopathic Hospital deserve notice, as do Miss Simp- son’s basket, used by the “ Princess Christians Nuises, and the bag used by the “ Queen’s Nurses.” These exhibits are not only interesting in themselves, but are instructive evidences of the immense strides made in nursing’ 14 (209)