The Ladies Musical Club (LMC) of Seattle was organized officially on March 2, 1891, during the heyday of the national women's club movement from the 1890s through the 1920s. Women's organizations not only provided countless benefits to urban and rural communities, but they also helped give a public voice and influence to women even before they were enfranchised as full citizens with voting power.

The LMC of Seattle was a club designed for the purpose of "developing the musical talent of its members, and stimulating musical interest in Seattle." In addition to providing funds to the Seattle Symphony, the Cornish School, and promising music students, the club was responsible for bringing some of the most internationally famous singers and instrumentalists of the day to Seattle. The LMC continues its long tradition of generosity by providing free concerts for the public at several venues in Seattle, including an annual concert series at Meany Hall, and through its Music in Schools program, an outreach to bring music education to Seattle Public Schools.

This photo was taken March 21, 1921 on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the LMC. Photographer Frank Nowell began taking and selling photographs as souvenirs in Alaska and Washington about 1900. He was the official photographer for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, and ran a commercial photography studio in Seattle until his retirement in the 1940s.

Handwritten on negative: Thirtieth Anniversary of the Ladies Musical Club, Seattle, March 21st, 1921
Identification of some of the individuals in the photo is written on an accompanying envelope and is available in the collection folder.
Photographer's number: 177

Caption information source: "Women's Club Movement in Washington," by Karen J. Blair, http://www.historylink.org/File/9170