MORE than 2500 “internationally important” Robert Burns artefacts are being made available to view online for the first time.
The items, which belong to the National Trust for Scotland's Burns collection, include manuscripts, photographs and letters which are rarely displayed to the public.
Among the objects being made available are Burns’s wife Jean Armour’s wedding ring, a lock of hair belonging to Highland Mary, and a pair of the Scots poet’s blue woollen initialled socks.
There is also a fragment of one of only six known manuscripts of Auld Lang Syne dating from 1793.
The online portal is hoped to make the artefacts and work belonging to the world-famous poet more accessible.
Susie Hillhouse, the collections Manager at the National Trust for Scotland, said: “We are excited to be bringing our incredible Robert Burns Collection to people across the world through this online platform.
“This project, which has been in the works for over 12 months, will allow people to engage with items in the collections like never before.
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“We’re currently only able to show a proportion of these items at our award-winning Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.
“Now, anyone will be able to search the collections, zoom in to tiny details and experience the full collection of over 2500 items, 24/7, from anywhere in the world.
“The time and investment that has gone in to creating this online collection demonstrates the Trust’s commitment to making heritage accessible for everyone.”
Manuscripts of Scots Wha Hae, the Lament of Mary, Queen of Scots, On The Approach of Spring, and the first printed uncut edition of Kilmarnock Edition will be available to the public for the first time.
Established in 1931, the National Trust for Scotland is Scotland’s largest conservation charity.
It is the caretaker for more than 5000 Burns-related items at the Burns Birthplace in Alloway, South Ayrshire.
Ali MacLeod, head of fundraising at the National Trust for Scotland, said: “We hope that we can learn from this project and that it might pave the way for us to develop further online collections as part of our strategy to make Scotland’s important history accessible to everyone – both now and in the future.”
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