Postcard of a portrait of Jean Armour Burns

"Jean Armour". A colour tinted postcard from a steel plate engraving of a portrait of the poet's wife.   Of the many and varied postcards on the theme of Robert Burns' life and work very few portray his wife. Jean Armour was born in 1765, the daughter of a master mason of Mauchline. She first met Robert Burns at Mauchline in 1784, after his family settled at Mossgiel, near to the town. The actual date of their marriage is not known.   They had nine children, only three of whom survived into adulthood. After Robert Burns death in 1796, Jean continued to live in the family home in Burns Street, Dumfries. The house became a place of pilgrimage for Burns' admirers and she received many distinguished visitors. She remained there until her own death in 1843.   The portrait from which this postcard is taken is the original painting by James Gilfillan made in c. 1826 and shows her in later life. Gilfillan also painted a retrospective portrait of Burns around the same time.