"Kirkcaldy" or "John Strachan" in Dundee Harbour - Ref: WC0843
This Alexander Wilson photograph has been miscaptioned. The word Kirkcaldy is on the stern of the ship to the right, but is, in fact, the port of registry rather than the name. "John Strachan" seems the most likely identity.
A steam lighter (an early form of puffer) was built by W. Swan and Co., Glasgow, in 1885 for the Kirkcaldy, Leith and Glasgow Steam Packet Co. She was 66 feet in length and had a gross tonnage of 73 tons.
The other ship, probably a three masted sailing ship (although only two masts are visible), had probably come to Dundee with a cargo of jute, or might have been a whaling ship. Its identity is unknown.
Alexander Wilson who took this photograph, was a supervisor in a Dundee jute mill for over 20 years. He bequeathed much of his collection and £50, to cover the costs involved, to the Free Library Committee of Dundee in 1923.