"Eclipse" in Dundee Docks - Ref: WC0812
The "Eclipse" was a whaling ship, built in Aberdeen but bought from David Gray of Peterhead by the Dundee firm James Mitchell in 1892. She had been fitted with a new engine in 1877 by Hall, Russel and Co., of Aberdeen.
This photograph by Alexander Wilson shows her in the north-east corner of Dundee's Earl Grey Dock, with the Royal Arch at the extreme left hand side (I.e. to the north). Longboats are stacked against the foremast, presumably to save space.
She sailed to the David Straits in the six years from 1893 to 1898. Her best results were in 1898 when she brought back 70 tons of oil and four tons of whale bone; in 1896, she managed only 20 tons of oil and 14 hundredweight of bone (c. 350 kg).
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.