ExhibitionThe Art of Nursing: Romance, Comedy, and Titillation
Commercial postcards and greeting cards treat images of nurses similarly to the ways in which images of women are treated in other popular art forms of the day. At the beginning of the 20th century, the cards use innuendo and visual teasing to hint at female sexuality. By the 1950s, nurses are more frequently shown as sex objects, the emphasis on their bodies reflecting the popularity of the ‘pin up’ and ‘calendar’ girl.
Medi-Kate, 1906
Produced by Williamson-Haffner Co., Denver, CO
One of a series of postcards based on the popular What Katy Did Next books by Susan Coolidge (1831—1905). This card depicts Katy as a Red Cross nurse.
A Valentine Message, ca. 1913
Created by Samuel Schmucker (1879—1921)
Many early Valentine cards show nurses mending broken hearts.
Oh, something about a pretty girl and a wounded soldier with a happy ending, ca. 1918
Created by Rez Maurice
Produced by The Regent Publishing Co. Ltd., London
Innuendo and double entendre were common on British and American comic postcards from the 1900s until the late 1950s. Here, the nurse is being indirectly propositioned by the male patient, who is seeking a tryst with her. Liaisons between nurses and patients were strictly forbidden.
He’s taken a turn for the nurse, 1940s
Created Zoë Mozert (1907—1993)
Produced by International Mutoscope Reel Co., New York
Cards like this one produced by Mutoscope, were available from coin operated vending machines in amusement arcades. Most featured ‘pin up’ images; some featured cartoons.
Add a black eye to whatever he’s already got!, 1950s
Produced by H. B. Ltd., England
This card uses two common British nurse stereotypes, the older ‘battle-axe,’ a frustrated spinster and strict disciplinarian, and the young ‘sexy’ nurse, to create comic affect. Sexy nurses were frequently shown as worldly wise, working-class blonde women, who were ‘fair game’ for their male patients’ unwanted advances.