The story of Maude Abbott: her career
Source: Musée régional d’Argenteuil and TVC d’Argenteuil
Descriptive transcript:
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Montage of sepia photographs of the Abbott family: Maude Abbott and John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, Maude Abbott’s university diploma in Latin and a plaque in her memory as a physician, author, historian, founder and vice president of the Argenteuil County Historical Society. An interpretive sign of Maude Abbott’s family in Christ Church Cemetery and Maude Abbott’s gravestone in the cemetery. Historian Robert Simard points to artifacts in a display case at the Argenteuil Regional Museum and speaks into a microphone to a group of children dressed in snowsuits and seated on the ground outside in winter in front of Elmbank, Maude Abbott’s home. It is a two-storey red brick house with a black cedar shingle roof, a large white front porch on the ground floor and a small balcony in the centre of the second floor, also white. The house is decorated for Christmas. It is snowing.
Video title: The Story of Maude Abbott, Chapter 2, Her Career.
Four young girls are looking at Elmbank, Maude Abbott’s home. It is a two-storey red brick house with a black cedar shingle roof, a large white front porch on the ground floor and a small balcony in the centre of the second floor, also white. The house is decorated for Christmas. It is snowing. The girls are arm in arm as they look at the house.
[Narrator]: Maude left St. Andrews in 1884 to pursue her secondary education. She attended the Misses Symmers and Smyth’s private academy in Montreal.
Black and white photo of Maude Abbott as a young adult, head and shoulders. She is looking to the right with a serious expression.
[Narrator]: Then, in 1886, she enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program at Royal Victoria College, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts at McGill University.
A young girl plays the role of Maude Abbott, sitting and writing at a desk in the Abbott family exhibit at the Argenteuil Regional Museum. She has blond hair and is dressed in beige; she appears focused and thoughtful. She sits on a wooden chair and writes in a fat notebook placed on a small red desk on which there is a framed photo of Frances Mary Smith Abbott, Maude’s grandmother, and a blue vase in a plastic display case. Photos of various Abbott family members hang on the wall behind her.
Maude Elizabeth Seymour Abbott’s university diploma from McGill University. The diploma is in Latin; the words are black on a white background, except for five letters in red.
[Narrator]: She received her Bachelor of Arts in 1889.
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Historian Robert Simard points to artifacts in the Abbott exhibit at the Argenteuil Regional Museum before a group of children. Robert Simard is wearing a black coat and a dark grey toque; the five students are wearing winter coats and colourful sweaters. The Abbott exhibit consists of two large glass-fronted wooden cabinets containing artifacts and framed photographs of various members of the Abbott family hanging on the wall.
[Narrator]: Despite her academic excellence, McGill University refused to admit her to the Faculty of Medicine, which was open only to men.
Black and white photo of Maude Abbott as a young adult, from the waist up. She is wearing a dark dress with flowered bodice and cuffs, puffed sleeves and a cinched waist. She is holding a white paper. Her hair is tied back, and she is looking to the right with a serious expression.
[Narrator]: After much trial and effort, Maude was admitted to the Faculty of Medicine at Bishop’s College in Montreal.
The Victorian Parlour of the Argenteuil Regional Museum. The upper walls are covered in green striped wallpaper and the lower walls are pale green with pink flowers. The moldings and floor are white, and the curtains are green and white. A large black and white print of people attending a Victorian ball hangs in a wooden frame on the left wall. Against the same wall is a wooden Victorian-era chaise longue with pink lined fabric and two yellow cushions. A red-burgundy rug lies under the chaise longue. Next to the chaise longue, near the window, there is a wooden side table topped with white marble, on which is arranged a tea set (teapot, creamer, teacup). Above this table, a shelf hanging on the wall displays other Victorian dishes. In the corner of the left and back walls, there is a Victorian wooden chair with a beige cushion on which a book is placed. An identical chair sits in front of the right window. A black and white print in a golden frame of a woman in Victorian evening dress hangs on the back wall. Underneath it stands a wooden table with a white marble top, on which are placed a vase of flowers and other small objects. To the left of the table, a mannequin wears a burgundy dress of the period. On the right wall there is a large fireplace with a wooden mantle painted white, on which colourful dishes are arranged. To the far right stands a black fortepiano. A mannequin wearing a blue-green and black checkered Victorian dress is placed as though playing the piano. The room’s barriers and interpretive signs can be seen.
[Narrator]: She was the only woman in her class. She graduated first in her class and received her MD in 1894, becoming one of the first female physicians in Canada, despite all the difficulties she faced.
A photo, black on sepia, of Frances Mary Smith. Her hair is arranged in a braid on top of her head, and she is looking to the right with a serious expression. The frame is made of beige embroidered fabric.
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Robert Simard in front of the Argenteuil Regional Museum gallery with a microphone, in winter. The stairs are covered in snow. Children in snowsuits are sitting on the stairs and standing around him, listening to him. Robert Simard is wearing a black winter coat and a dark grey toque.
[Robert Simard]: So here we are in front of the Argenteuil Regional Museum. The building was built around 1830, between 1830-1838, by the Royal Staff Corps, who were here and who helped build the Carillon Canal.
Black and white photo of the Argenteuil Regional Museum. On the right can be seen a white wooden fence and a white sign with ‘’Sovereign Hotel – J.E. Boileau’’ in black writing. A black train is approaching. On the left is the museum building. It is a grey stone barracks with two storeys and an attic, many white windows, a black roof, and a white chimney. It is summer; there are leaves in the trees.
Colour photo of the Argenteuil Regional Museum today. It is a grey stone barracks with two storeys and an attic, many white windows, a black roof, and a white chimney. The blue-green gallery can be seen. It is summer; there are leaves in the trees. The sky is blue.
[Robert Simard]: This building was transformed into a museum when Maude Abbott and Dr. Wales created the Historical Society of Argenteuil County.
Robert Simard in front of the Argenteuil Regional Museum gallery with a microphone, in winter. The stairs are covered in snow. Children in snowsuits are sitting on the stairs and standing around him, listening to him. Robert Simard is wearing a black winter coat and a dark green toque. It is snowing.
Black and white photo of an elderly Dr. Benjamin Wales. He is wearing a suit and tie, has dark grey hair and a white beard. He is squinting with a serious expression.
[Robert Simard]: And then, they looked for somewhere to make a museum and they had access to this building, which is a really remarkable building.
Robert Simard in front of the Argenteuil Regional Museum gallery with a microphone, in winter. The stairs are covered in snow. Children in snowsuits are sitting on the stairs and standing around him, listening to him. Robert Simard is wearing a black winter coat and a dark grey toque. It is snowing.
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One of the display cases in the Abbott exhibit at the Argenteuil Regional Museum, containing a black and white graduation photo of Maude Abbott, a silver creamer and teapot, and a gold medal with a mirror behind it.
[Narrator]: Accompanied by her sister Alice, Maude pursued postgraduate studies in Europe. There she met her mentors and devoted herself to studying heart disease in children.
Black and white drawings of hearts.
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Black and white photo in a red velvet frame with beaded accents in the four corners, of Maude Abbott and her sister Alice as little girls. They are in front of a fence outside and are both looking at the camera with a serious expression.
Black and white photo of Maude Abbott as a young adult, from the waist up. She is wearing a dark dress with flowered bodice and cuffs, puffed sleeves and a cinched waist. She is holding a white paper. Her hair is tied back, and she is looking to the right with a serious expression.
[Narrator]: On returning to Montreal in 1897 at the age of 28, she opened a private practice near McGill University.
Historian Robert Simard points to artifacts and talks to the children in the Abbott exhibit at the Argenteuil Regional Museum. Robert Simard is wearing a black coat and a dark grey toque; the five students are wearing winter coats and colourful sweaters. The Abbott exhibit consists of two large glass-fronted wooden cabinets containing artifacts, and framed photographs of various members of the Abbott family hang on the wall.
[Narrator]: She continued her research into heart defects at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
Historian Robert Simard speaks into a microphone in the Argenteuil, my Life as Rivers room of the Argenteuil Regional Museum. Robert Simard is wearing a black coat and a dark toque. He is standing in front of a 19th century Anglican minister’s suit. The minister’s pants and jacket are black and he has a white collar. To the right of the Anglican minister’s suit is a bouffant wedding dress from the same period in creamy white lace. Above the costumes hangs a crown of flowers made of feathers in a wooden frame.
[Robert Simard]: Se here we see a suit worn by an Anglican minister in the 19th century. This is the same type of suit that Maude Abbott’s grandfather, William Abbott, would have worn.
Black and white charcoal drawing of William Abbott wearing the black robe and white collar of an Anglican minister. The inscription “Rev William Abbott 1789-1859” can be seen at the bottom of the drawing.
Historian Robert Simard speaks into a microphone in the Argenteuil, my Life as Rivers room of the Argenteuil Regional Museum. Robert Simard is wearing a black coat and a dark toque. Behind him can be seen a bouffant wedding dress in creamy white lace, a white display case and crochet frames. Above the dress hangs a crown of flowers made of feathers in a wooden frame. The group of children listen attentively to Robert Simard. They are wearing snowsuits, most of them colourful. The camera pans left to show the Anglican minister’s suit, the wedding dress and the framed flowers.
[Robert Simard]: So when he gave church services at Christ Church, because he was the Anglican minister at Christ Church for most of the first half of the 19th century, until his death, he would have worn a suit like this.
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Black and white photo of an exhibit of heart specimens at McGill University by Dr. Maude Abbott. There a several drawings and specimens in jars on a large black table, in two sections labelled “A” and “B”.
[Narrator]: In 1896, Maude was appointed assistant curator at the McGill Pathology Museum.
Black and white photo of Maude Abbott as a young adult. She is wearing a graduation gown and holding a diploma in her hands. Her hair is arranged on top of her head. She gazes into the distance with a serious expression.
The cover of the book “Maudie of McGill”. The cover is blue and bears a reproduction of a painted portrait of an elderly Maude Abbott, wearing a red and white gown over a dark blue dress and holding a green book in her hands. Her grey hair is tied back; she wears a serious expression.
Young girl playing the role of Maude Abbott, sitting and writing at a desk.
[Narrator]: Her dream of working at McGill became a reality.
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A young girl plays the role of Maude Abbott, sitting and writing at a desk in the Abbott family exhibit at the Argenteuil Regional Museum. She has blond hair and is dressed in beige; she appears focused and thoughtful. She sits on a wooden chair and writes in a fat notebook placed on a small red desk on which there is a copy of the book “Maudie of McGill” and a blue vase in a plastic display case. Photos of various Abbott family members hang on the wall behind her.
Shot of the same girl playing the role of Maude Abbott. She looks thoughtfully at a substance in a glass jar, in front of a wooden shelf in a classroom.
[Narrator]: Maude’s medical research led to advances that paved the way for unprecedented medical breakthroughs,
Colour photograph of heart specimens from the Maude Abbott Medical Museum. The specimens are in yellowish liquid in glass jars, and each jar is identified by a typed white label on the top of the jar.
Robert Simard is in the Argenteuil, my Life as Rivers room of the Argenteuil Regional Museum and looks at the display cases with the group of children, explaining what they are. Robert Simard holds a microphone and is wearing a black coat and a dark toque. The children are wearing snowsuits.
[Narrator]: Even leading to the first surgical procedures to correct congenital heart disease.
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The young girl playing the role of Maude Abbott gazes out of a classroom window with a thoughtful expression. She is leaning on a heater, and a plant in a yellow cup sits on the windowsill.
Black and white photo of an elderly Maude Abbott, standing in front of a wall covered in vine leaves. She is wearing a long-sleeved patterned top and a long dark skirt. Her grey hair is tied back. She is accompanied by another doctor, who is wearing a suit and tie and a long white lab coat.
[Narrator]: Maude was also an internationally renowned scientific author. Her greatest contribution was, without a shadow of a doubt, her “Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease”, published in 1936.
Two pages of the “Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease” by Maude Abbott. The left page contains text, and the right page shows black and white drawings of different parts of the human heart.
The cover of the “Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease” by Maude Abbott. The book is red with gold-coloured writing.
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End credits
Guests: Cynthia Lisa Dubé, Françoise Savard, Robert Simard.
Director and camera operator: Marc-Antoine Bergeron.
Voice-over: Hans-Thomas Leclerc.
Editing: Elodie St-Jean.
With the collaboration of: the students of Scolaire le monde school, the Argenteuil Regional Museum, Table de concertation Paroles aux aînés d’Argenteuil, TVC d’Argenteuil.
TVC d’Argenteuil logo.