Summary

Printed leaflet listing items to be brought to Maryborough District Hospital by a mother at the time of giving birth. It was used by Lillian Boyd when she gave birth to her son Bill in 1947.

The leaflet lists the items to be brought 'For Mother', 'For Baby' and 'From Chemist'. 'For Mother' lists: 'bundle old linen', 'toilet requisites', slippers, 1 dressing gown, bed jacket, 4 nightgowns (amended to 1), washer, binders and hot water bag or bed socks. '2 packets Modess' [sanitary pads] has been added to the list. 'For Baby' lists: 2 doz. napkins, 1 card safety pins, 3 gowns, 3 singlets, 1 bunny rug, 3 binders and 1 washer (crossed out). 'From Chemist' lists: 1 'combine dressing roll', 1 cake baby soap, 1 Nyal baby oil (amended with 'not Fouldings'), Cascara Evacuant (a laxative), 1 Dettol 8oz, 1 cake toilet soap and 1 tin Nyal baby powder. '1 lb cotton wool' has been added to the list. Each item is to be marked clearly with the user's surname.

Part of the William Boyd Childhood Collection, which includes most of the childhood possessions of William (Bill) Boyd, who was born in 1947 and raised in the Victorian town of Maryborough. Kept by Lillian Boyd (Bill's mother) for decades, and passed onto her son upon her death.

Physical Description

Leaflet listing items to be brought to hospital by mother at the time of giving birth, printed in blue and brown font on cream paper. Items 'For 'Mother' and 'For Baby' are listed in separate columns; items 'From Chemist' are listed below. Originally folded in half vertically - now torn at the fold. Also deep horizontal crease. Has been amended in ink and pencil. Some discolouration.

Significance

This leaflet a rare surviving record relating to a mother's experience of childbirth in a country Victorian hospital in the period immediately after World War II. In particular, it is significant as an insight into the physical experience of childbirth and the equipping of hospitals at the time: the need for the mother, Lillian Boyd, to bring her own 'bundle old linen', binders, washers, nappies, 'dressing roll', Dettol, soap and even Cascara Evacuant as a laxative. The list is marked with ticks and crosses, indicating what the user either obtained or was instructed to obtain. Amendments are added with ink pen: '2 Packets Modess' [sanitary pads], '1lb cotton wool' and an instruction to not buy 'Fouldings' brand baby oil.

More broadly, the leaflet is part of a collection of 60 objects relating to the birth and infancy of Bill Boyd, including Christening mug, gowns, baby bedding and clothing, and a Christening photograph. It shows in a poignant and comprehensive way the material world of a baby in the 1950s.

Encompassing toys, books, clothing and other items, the William Boyd Childhood Collection is rare in its comprehensiveness: even ephemera such as the back of a Cornflakes box are included. The Collection demonstrates a range of prominent themes in the lives of postwar Victorian children, such as the ability to 'make do' under austere circumstances; the shift in toy manufacture towards plastic materials and mass production; the continuing cultural influence of Britain; the increasing embrace of American popular culture; the prominence of gender roles; and the popularity of transport and war themed toys for boys.

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