Johanna Kissling in Melrose

  Johanna Kissling in The King's Arms, Melrose, c. 1960   This photograph shows Johanna Kissling sitting on a chair inside The King's Arms Hotel, Melrose. She is looking sternly up at the camera.   After the Second World War ended Dr Kissling was able to smuggle his mother and the remains of the family money out of Germany, leaving the rest of his family to try and resurrect their brewing business.   Johanna came to live in Scotland and Dr Kissling bought this hotel in Melrose as a home for her. Dr Kissling and Johanna had always been very close but she was unhappy in Melrose.   Dr Kissling was often away on research trips and the hotel lost money, leaving both Dr Kissling and his mother living much less comfortably than they had in Germany. Johanna Kissling died in Melrose in 1961.   With thanks to Ralph Coleman, David Lockwood and John McG A Scott for providing information.   Dr Werner Kissling (1895-1988) was a German photographer and ethnographer who spent most of his life documenting Scottish crafts, architecture, and agricultural practices. He was associated with Dumfries Museum from the mid-1950s until his death in 1988.