Bertha Ethel Knight Landes (1868-1943) was the first female mayor of a major American city, serving as mayor of Seattle from 1926 to 1928. Landes vowed to clean up city government, running for mayor on the platform of "municipal housekeeping." She served only one term as mayor but remained a civic leader in such organizations as the Women's University Club, the Woman's Century Club, the League of Women Voters, and the Women's Auxiliary of University Congregational Church.
In this image Mayor Landes stands with "the girl with the bee-stung lips," American actress Mae Murray (1885-1965), during Murray's visit to Seattle, possibly to promote her latest film, "Altars of Desire."
Handwritten on photo: "Wonderful and charming lady. Thank you and your city. Mae Murray, Nov. 1927."
ID Number: 1974.5855.31
Date: 1927
Physical Description: 1 photographic print : b&w ; 5 x 7 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Collection on Bertha Landes, 1974.5855.31
