In Her Own Hand
A Florence Nightingale letter for a nurse
The ask
Our hospital has appointed its first chief nursing officer to come straight from the wards. She started as a ward nurse and still calls herself one. The board wants to welcome her with something that has real history in it, not a plaque. We have about $2,500 between us.
The gift
An autograph letter written and signed by Florence Nightingale, chosen from those that reach auction each season for one that touches nurses, wards, or the sick. A manuscript specialist confirms the hand and writes a short note on the recipient and the circumstances. It is kept in a cloth folder and box made to measure, and is presented in the linen box with a card sealed in wax.
Why it's extraordinary
Nightingale ran much of her reform of nursing by letter, writing thousands of them over five decades. This is one page of that work, in the hand of the woman who made nursing a profession.
The moment
It is kept in its box on her office desk and comes out whenever a nurse stops by.
A curator replies within one business day.
