<p>Caroline McGilvra was born in Illinois, and moved with her family to Seattle in 1861. She married Judge Thomas Burke in 1879, and the couple joined the city's social elite. Mrs Burke donated her large collection of Northwest native artifacts to the Washington State Museum at the University of Washington. Some years after her death in 1925, a bequest from her will funded the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum.
In this 1895 photo, Mrs. Burke poses for the photographer in a satin brocade evening gown. Her gown and her cape are edged with ostrich feathers. Like many other women of her time, Mrs. Burke wears a tightly-laced corset to shape her tiny waist.</p>
<p>Original photograph: Davis &amp; Sanford, 189-. Copied after 1975 by the Museum of History and Industry.</p>
<ul><li>Subjects (LCTGM): Ball dresses; Women--Clothing &amp; dress</li>
<li>People: Burke, Caroline McGilvra</li></ul>
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<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/imlsmohai/search">Museum of History and Industry</a>