The Museum Room in Robert Burns House, Dumfries

A monochrome photographic print of the Robert Burns exhibition set out in the bedroom in which he died. It was in this ordinary sandstone house in a quiet back street of Dumfries that Robert Burns spent the last three years of his life. The family moved into the house in May 1793. The house had a parlour, kitchen, two bedrooms and even a small study where Burns could write. It was well furnished with a carpet and a long case clock in the parlour.   Robert Burns died here on 21 July 1796, although his wife, Jean Armour Burns continued to live in the house until her own death in 1834. The house was purchased in 1851 by their son, Colonel  William Nicol Burns and throughout the 19th Century it became a place of pilgrimage for Burns enthusiasts from around the world.   At the time this photograph was taken a caretaker occupied the house, apart from the room in which the poet had died, which was set out as an exhibition of Burns relics. The house was restored in 1935 and opened as a museum. It still retains much of its eighteenth century character.   This photograph has been heavily scored around the outside, and along the lines of the cases and other objects. It was owned by the publisher W and A K Johnston Limited of Edinburgh, who used it to produce a coloured lithographic postcard. The scoring found on this photograph may have been part of that process.