COLLECTION

Medical nurse carrying a bucket of water, Nr. 5/181, ca. 1935. Lineol, Germany
Nurse carrying a bucket of water, Nr. 5/181, 1932-1940, mass-toy soldier, Lineol

Germany, 1935

Nurse carrying a bucket, Nr. 5/181. Toy-soldiers, figure, ca. 1935, Lineol, Germany

LIBRARY

Hospiz der Diakonissen-Anstalt, Kaiserswerth a. Rh., 1913
Kaiserswerth, Hospiz der Diakonissen-Anstalt

Germany, 20 C. 1 half

Fliedner, Theodor , Nightingale, Florence

Postcard titled “Hospiz der Diakonissen-Anstalt, Kaiserswerth a. Rh.” with a handwritten private message on the back, bearing a green “German Empire” 5 Pf., postally used stamp, cancelled on August 9, 1913. Cardboard, letterpress printing, handwritten text in ink.

Weisenhaus, Mutterhaus and Krankenhaus of the Diaconate in Kaiserswerth a. Rh. (Diakonissie). Germany, 1917
Kaiserswerth a. Rh. Weisenhaus, Mutterhaus, Krankenhaus

Germany, 20 C. 1 half

Fliedner, Theodor , Nightingale, Florence

Postcard titled “Kaiserswerth a. Rh. Weisenhaus, Mutterhaus, Krankenhaus". The postcard cancelled 23 August 1917. 

Kaiserswerth a. Rh. Hauptkrankenhaus, Diakonissenkirche, Tabeahaus, postcard cancelled 1916
Kaiserswerth a. Rh. Hauptkrankenhaus, Diakonissenkirche, Tabeahaus

Germany, 20 C. 1 half

Fliedner, Theodor , Nightingale, Florence

Postcard titled “Kaiserswerth a. Rh. Hauptkrankenhaus, Diakonissenkirche, Tabeahaus." The postcard cancelled 26.12.1916 

Mutterhaus der Diakonissen, Kaiserswerth am Rhein (NRW). One of the World's first School of Nurses
Kaiserswerth am Rhein Diakonissenmutterhaus

Germany, 20 C. 1 half

Fliedner, Theodor , Nightingale, Florence

Postcard titled “Kaiserswerth a. Rh. Diakonissenmutterhaus,” with a message on the back, bearing a “German Empire” postally used stamp, cancelled on November 25, 1918. 

Kaiserswerth a. Rh. Diakonissen Mutterhaus

Germany, 20 C. 1 half

Fliedner, Theodor , Nightingale, Florence

Postcard titled “Diakonissen Mutterhaus” with a handwritten private message on the front side, right from the photo, bearing on the back a green “German Empire” 5 Pf., postally used stamp, cancelled on August 23, 1901. Cardboard, letterpress printing, handwritten text in black ink. Printed by Wilh. Kammann, Autotypie-Anstalt, Düsseldorf. Publisher: Verlag von Lorenz Apel.

St. George’s Hospital in London. Postcard sent on April 2, 1908
St. George’s Hospital in London

England, 20 C. 1 half

Postcard with depicted St. George’s Hospital in London, sent on April 2, 1908. St. George’s Hospital was founded in 1733 at Lanesborough House near Hyde Park Corner. From its very first decades of operation, the hospital was involved in training doctors: its surgeons and physicians took on apprentices. The medical school was officially established at 1834 and since 1868, it was housed directly within the hospital complex.

Westminster Bridge and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, photographic postcard, 1930s.  Bridge House Real Photo Series (1930s–1940) by publisher W. H. Smith
Westminster Bridge and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London

England, 20 C. 1 half

Nightingale, Florence

Westminster Bridge and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, Scenic photographic postcard, presumably from the 1930s, not mailed. Original title: Westminster Bridge showing St. Thomas’ Hospital, London. Series: Bridge House Real Photo Series (1930s–1940) by publisher W. H. Smith & Son, London.

Postcard "Main Entrance to the Salpêtrière Hospice and Hospital in Paris". Dated: 1903–1909, mailed: September 28, 1909. Destination: Vitto, Côte-d’Or department, France.
Salpêtrière Hospice and Hospital in Paris, Main Entrance

France, 20 C. 1 half

Main Entrance to the Salpêtrière Hospice and Hospital in Paris (todays The Mazarin entrance to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital). Postcard dated: 1903–1909. Date of mailing: September 28, 1909. Destination: Vitto, Côte-d’Or department, France. Material and technique: cardboard; monochrome photomechanical print; letterpress printing; handwritten text in ink. Language: French. Recipient: "Mr. Vachar, road worker". Postage stamp: France, 10 centimes, Semeuse lignée type — “Sower on a Lined Background”. 

PEOPLE

Theodor Fliedner (1800–1864) was a German Protestant pastor, social reformer, and founder of the first nursing school. Florence Nightingale received inspiration for her ideas there. Source: EuroMedSim
Fliedner, Theodor

Theodor Fliedner (1800–1864) was a German Protestant pastor and social reformer. In 1836, together with his wife Friederike, he founded the Kaiserswerth Deaconess Institute, combining nursing education, hospital practice, and religious service. Its model helped professionalise nursing, spread internationally, and influenced Florence Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale: founder of modern nursing in Great Britain
Nightingale, Florence

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) founded modern nursing in Great Britain, transforming it from a disreputable occupation into a respected profession. Despite fierce family opposition, Nightingale persisted, eventually training at the Nursing School of Protestant Deaconesses in Kaiserswerth, Germany, in 1851. During the Crimean War, she led 38 nurses to Scutari, where she implemented sanitation measures that drastically reduced the mortality rate from 42% to 2%. Known as "The Lady with the Lamp," she also pioneered medical statistics, creating polar area diagrams to visualise preventable deaths. In 1860, she established the first secular nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital, London. Her legacy endures through International Nurses Day, celebrated on her birthday, and her foundational text Notes on Nursing.

FIRM

Elastolin toy figures - soldiers, nurses, paramedics and military surgeons. O. und M. Hausser, West Germany
O. & M. Hausser (Elastolin)

Germany,

Elastolin was a trademark of O. & M. Hausser — a company founded in 1904 by Otto and Max Hausser in Ludwigsburg (Baden-Württemberg, Germany). In 1910, the company began producing parlor games and mass-produced figurines. These mostly depicted soldiers and other war toys and were made from ELASTOLIN - a paste of sawdust, casein, glue and kaolin with wire frames in tin moldes. In 1935 the company moved to Neustadt near Coburg in Bavaria. After the Second World War, production was gradually reduced and the company was finally closed down in 1983. The Elastolin figurines had an oval base (not rectangular like their competitor Lineol).

Lineol, German manufacturer of the toy-figures made of compositions
Lineol

Germany,

Lineol was one of the leading Germany toy-soldiers manufacturer. The figures were made of LINEOL – combination of linseed oil and tree resin. Besides of military troops there were an extensive collection of the medical personnel – surgeons, combat medics and nurses as well as wounded soldiers. In the 1930s, LINEOL AG employed 300 to 400 people. Today the company operates under the "Lineol Dirk Duscha" brand name.

MUSEUM

Mutterhaus in Kaiserswerth Diakonie. Postcard, 1910s. Source: EuroMedSim Museum
Kaiserswerther Diakonie Pflegemuseum (Museum of Nursing)

Germany, Kaiserswerth

Kaiserswerther Diakonie is an Evangelical community of deaconesses founded in 1836 by Pastor Theodor Fliedner. Here women received training in caregiving and child-rearing and lived a life of discipline and prayer. The institution included a hospital, a school, and a shelter. In 1851, Florence Nightingale, who later established the modern system of nursing in Great Britain, completed an internship here. The Kaiserswerth model spread throughout Europe, America and Russia. Today, the Diakonie remains an active institution, and its building houses a Pflegemuseum (Museum of Nursing) and a hotel in the Mutterhaus.

Santa Maria della Scala in Sienna

Italy, Siena

In the depths of Tuscany, Siena during the Renaissance laid on a busy Via Francigena, trade and regligiouse route connecting Western and Northern Italy and Europe with Rome. Opposite the majestic Siena Cathedral, Santa Maria della Scala is a remarkable testimony to the history of medicine of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Founded as early as the ninth century, this institution was more than just an ordinary hospital - it was a beacon of hope and compassion for weary pilgrims making the arduous journey along the Via Francigena to Rome and further to the Holy Land. What began as a simple orphanage grew into one of Europe's most famous hospitals, caring not only for pilgrims but also for sick, destitute and abandoned children. By the 12th century it had established itself as a leading centre of medical care, pioneering techniques that shaped the future of medicine in the region. One of the most striking sights of Santa Maria della Scala is the Pellegrinaio Hall (Pilgrims' Hall), whose colourful frescoes depict medical and charitable activities.