'Colonel William Nicol Burns, third Son of the Poet', c 1850
Introduction:
William Nicol Burns was the sixth child of Robert Burns and his wife, Jean Armour Burns and one of three sons to survive into adulthood. He was named after the poet's friend William Nicol, the companion of his Highland tour and hero of the poem, 'Willie Brew'd A Peck O' Maut'.
Image Rights Holder:
Dumfries & Galloway Museums Service
Ref:
210
Project:
241:Robert Burns - People and Places
Material:
Paper
Dimensions:
Image - length: 99 mm, width: 77 mm
What:
Print entitled 'Colonel W Nicol Burns, third Son of the Poet'
Subject:
This mezzotint, made from an earlier oil portrait by Sir Daniel Macnee was published in 1898 in the 'Memorial Catalogue of the Burns Exhibition, 1896'. This detailed the contents of the great exhibition of Burns material held in the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts in 1896 as part of the events which commemorated the centenary of the poet's death.
Who:
Robert Burns (1759-1796) (his son)
East India Company, The (employee)
William Nicol Burns (1791-1872) (son of the poet, Robert Burns) (representation)
Jean Armour Burns (1767-1834) (wife of the poet, Robert Burns) (her son)
Sir Daniel Macnee (1806-1882) (artist (after))
Sarah Elizabeth Maitland Tombs Burns (1821-1909) (grand daughter of the poet, Robert Burns) (lent painting to exhibition)
Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (175 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow) (exhibition held at)
William Hodge and Company (Glasgow) (publisher and printer)
William Nicol Burns (1791-1872) (son of the poet, Robert Burns) (representation)
When:
1898 (published)
Where:
Dumfries Museum, Dumfries & Galloway
Background:
This mezzotint, made from an earlier oil portrait by Sir Daniel Macnee was published in 1898 in the 'Memorial Catalogue of the Burns Exhibition, 1896'. This detailed the contents of the great exhibition of Burns material held in the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts in 1896 as part of the events which commemorated the centenary of the poet's death.
Description:
He made a distinguished career in the East India Company, rising to the rank of Colonel and retired to Cheltenham. In 1851 he purchased the family's last home in Mill Street Dumfries in order to preserve the house in which his father had died.
http://burnsscotland.com/items/c/colonel-william-nicol-burns,-third-son-of-the-poet,-c-1850.aspx

Robert Burns junior and William Nicol Burns

An early monochrome photographic print, from a calotype negative, of a grouped studio portrait of two of the sons of Robert Burns.

Robert Burns first met his wife, Jean Armour in Mauchline in 1784. The date of their marriage is unclear and their relationship was opposed by her parents, but on the third of September 1776 she gave birth to twins, Robert and Jean. His twin sister died in infancy and by the time of his father's death in 1796 Robert Burns junior was the eldest of a family of five surviving children. He was educated at Dumfries Grammar School and at Glasgow and Edinburgh University. He obtained a position in the Stamp Office in London offered to him by the Prime Minister and retired to Dumfries in 1833. He tried his hand at writing verse but did not demonstrate his father's genius. In some accounts of his life he is presented as a rather dissipate figure, trading on his father's memory.

William Nicol Burns was the sixth child of Robert Burns and Jean Armour Burns and one of three sons to survive into adulthood. He made a distinguished career in the East India Company and retired to Cheltenham. In 1851 he purchased the family's last home in Mill Street Dumfries in order to preserve the house in which his father had died.

This early photograph may be a montage of two separate photographic portraits of the sons of Robert Burns. Each has been carefully posed in a photographer's studio. The time required to expose a photograph could be several minutes so subjects were required to sit still for an extended period.

http://www.futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/people/key-people/burns/burnsiana/robert-burns-junior-and-william-nicol-burns.aspx

New York Herald: March 11, 1872