The Historical Fancy Dress Ball
Montreal, January 18, 1898



Lady Aberdeen as Constance de la Tour
Copyright McCord Museum

“Most of the sets at this ball represented the French regime, possibly in an attempt to educate the country about Canada's French past. Several descendants of the historical figures portrayed were in attendance.

Interpreting the French regime, even Lady Aberdeen chose to draw attention to her ancestral past on this occasion. This was the only ball where Lady Aberdeen wore fancy dress, choosing the character of Constance de la Tour, an Acadian heroine whom she claimed as an ancestor. Although the connection between the two was very distant, the French press recognized her choice of character as "a charming gesture of acknowledgement of French Canadians."”
- http://www.civilization.ca/hist/balls/m-6eng.html

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