Tay ferry steamer before 1897

Curator: Looking at this ghostly image, one might get lost in reverie of the past, you know? Editor: It has that faded, nostalgic feel. What are we actually looking at here? Some kind of industrial monument? Curator: It's a reproduction, of course, but the original captures a Tay ferry steamer, most likely from before 1897, featured as an illustration within a printed book. Think of the book as a cultural object shaping and re-presenting a collective identity back then. Editor: Yes, there’s something almost melancholy about the steamer itself— looming over the river, yet it seems oddly vulnerable, almost ghost-like. You almost expect to see spectral figures of another age disembarking on the distant shore. Curator: These steamers played a critical role in Dundee's socio-economic development, right? Bridging not only the physical space across the River Tay but facilitating trade, labor migration, tourism, and also acting as a potent symbol of regional identity, especially when the first Tay Rail Bridge collapsed. What was left behind, except a collective traumatic memory? Editor: It feels more connected to the river than the land. Maybe I'm picking up on something, imagining that sensation, since river travel offers a different vantage point on landscapes and cultures than by rail. So often travel connects to class, here it reminds me of the cultural context for travel as social capital. Curator: Exactly, these vessels moved lives, goods, and narratives, which in turn fed back into the social and political dynamics on both banks of the Tay, right? Editor: Right. Seeing it reproduced within a book makes me wonder about the intended audience—who was this representation designed to reach and what narratives about progress and regionalism did it uphold, and what version of history are they now reflecting. Curator: It is remarkable. An invitation, if you will, to sail back and to reimagine the communities which the ferries once fostered and knit together. Editor: Absolutely—a reminder of how seemingly simple images are anything but!