Postcard of Jane Emma Burns Brown and Jean Armour Burns Brown at Burns House, Dumfries c 1905

This is a sepia coloured postcard from a photograph of two direct descendants of Robert Burns, taken at the doorway of the house in which he died.   Jane Emma Burns Brown was the daughter of Robert Burns junior, the poet's eldest son and one of the few members of his family who continued to live in Dumfries.  Her eldest daughter, Jean Armour Burns Brown 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 postcards from c1900 onwards.   This postcard shows mother and daughter on the steps outside Burns House, Dumfries.  They are dressed in Edwardian style clothes.  The photograph was taken shortly after 1903 when the house was let to the Town Council of Dumfries.  The room in which the poet died was opened to the public as a small Burns museum, although the remainder of the house was still occupied by a caretaker.