Postcard of Jean Armour Burns Brown, taken at Burns Cottage, Alloway

A monochrome postcard from a photograph of a direct descendant of Robert Burns, taken in front of his birthplace.   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  associated with Robert Burns and appeared at many events from the 1890s onwards until her death in 1937.   This postcard illustrates her in front of Burns Cottage at Alloway. Burns' birthplace and the Burns Monument Gardens at Alloway were a landmark for those visiting "Burns' Country" in the latter part of the 19th Century and this postcard may well have been purchased there. It is captioned: "Burns Great Grand-Daughter (Miss Jean Armour Burns Brown) At The Cottage".