Fàilte! (Welcome!)

Fàilte! (Welcome!)
This blog is the result of my ongoing research into the people, places and events that have shaped the Western Isles of Scotland and, in particular, the 'Siamese-twins' of Harris and Lewis.
My interest stems from the fact that my Grandfather was a Stornowegian and, until about four years ago, that was the sum total of my knowledge, both of him and of the land of his birth.
I cannot guarantee the accuracy of everything that I have written (not least because parts are, perhaps, pioneering) but I have done my best to check for any errors.
My family mainly lived along the shore of the Sound of Harris, from An-t-Ob and Srannda to Roghadal, but one family 'moved' to Direcleit in the Baighs...

©Copyright 2011 Peter Kerr All rights reserved

Sunday 29 January 2012

Another Photo Of 'Jessie'?

In this earlier piece I discussed the 'Jessie' of Stornoway which my ancestors owned & sailed whilst plying the coastal trade around the islands & mainland of Western Scotland.

I have discovered another image of a two-masted cargo vessel in Stornoway that appeared in a catalogue of images published in 1893. It is to be found in the George Washington Wilson collection at Aberdeen University Library and is an extremely rare stereoscopic close-up showing the stern and deck of a cargo sailing ship working in Scotland towards the end of the 19th Century.

I cannot be sure that she is indeed the 'Jessie' but the photo provides the best image that I have seen of this type of vessel and allows one's imagination to explore what it would have been like to sail such a ship, taking all kinds of cargo around these coasts and providing a vital service to island trade and communications.

This link will take you to the full details and clicking on the image will open a new page with a view that may be zoomed & explored revealing many fascinating details.

I wonder who the gentleman (usefully providing us with a scale to estimate the size of the ship, etc) is?


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