Jean Armour Burns Brown, as a portrait bust

A monochrome photographic print of a direct descendant of Robert Burns, taken as a superimposed image on a classical portrait bust.   Jean Armour Burns Brown was the great granddaughter of Robert Burns, descended through Robert Burns junior, the poet's eldest son. From the time she was a young woman she was said to bear an uncanny resemblance to her famous forebear.   Because of this she became something of a celebrity in her own right, touring in Scotland and North America. She was regularly invited to ceremonies and events associated with Robert Burns and occurs in many photographs from the 1890s onwards until her death in 1937.   This photographic oddity is a head and shoulders portrait of her in early middle age superimposed upon the torso and pedestal of a draped classical bust. Perhaps this was intended to be a tribute to the immortality or genius of Robert Burns, certainly her resemblance to him is particularly striking in this portrait.