Coloured lithographic cartoon from the second issue of The Glasgow Looking Glass, 25 June 1825. It is the first of a series of six illustrations under the title "Shipping News" illustrating the voyage of a steamboat journey from Glasgow to Liverpool.
This image shows a mad scramble at the Broomielaw to board the steamship on the left. On the right, family and friends are waving to passengers who have already set off down the river on board another paddle steamer. The lighthouse was situated at the south end of the Broomielaw's steamboat quay, at the foot of Hydepark Street. The large building at Springfield on the south bank of the river belonged to William Scott & Co, and was Glasgow's first steam-powered cotton mill.
The first paddle steamer to sail on the Clyde was the Comet in 1812. Steamships were a common sight on the river by 1825, and a popular means of transport before the advent of the railways and when road transport was still slow and uncomfortable.
Reference: Sp Coll Bh14-x.8
Glasgow University Library, Special Collections
Keywords:
cotton mills, doon the watter, fashions, Glasgow Looking Glass, horses and carriages, lighthouses, lithographs, Northern Looking Glass, paddle steamers, passengers, quays, River Clyde, steamboats, William Scott & Co, women