Rob Roy's sporan

[Phil]

I posted this in another thread about sporan-making but then I thought maybe no-one would see it. I posted pictures from the museum a while back but this wasn't there at the time - I since found out it was out on loan.
It is about Rob Roy's sporan kept in the National Museum here in Edinburgh. It wasn't actually his but Sir Walter Scott was impressed with it and wrote it into his novel about Rob Roy - “I advise no man to attempt opening the sporran till he has my secret, said Rob Roy… This, said he, touching the pistol – This is the keeper of my privy purse.” – from Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott, 1818.



This is just the cantle, of course and I wonder what the rest of it looked like? I think you would need to be very careful where it was pointing though!

[RobertParker]

I often wondered how that would work/look. It'd have to be huge, since even small flint locks are over 3" long.

[Phil]

I often wondered how that would work/look. It'd have to be huge, since even small flint locks are over 3" long.

No. I've seen it. It is pretty much normal sporan-sized although a bit deeper front to back.

[BoldHighlander]

I often wondered how that would work/look. It'd have to be huge, since even small flint locks are over 3" long.

No. I've seen it. It is pretty much normal sporan-sized although a bit deeper front to back.

Indeed...pistol sized locks are smaller than their rifle sized counterparts.

Phil, I'm a wee bit confused
Was this cantle set-up you show inspired by Scott's writings & built after the fact, or is this cantle in fact something that belonged to Rob Roy?

[Phil]

Phil, I'm a wee bit confused
Was this cantle set-up you show inspired by Scott's writings & built after the fact, or is this cantle in fact something that belonged to Rob Roy?

“Rob Roy", Sir Walter Scott’s fourth novel, was published anonymously. It contains a passage describing the sporran: ‘…a small steel pistol was concealed within the purse, the trigger of which was connected with the mounting…, so that the weapon would certainly be discharged
and in all probability its contents lodged in the person of any one…who should tamper with the lock’.
The Sporran with concealed pistols dates from the 18th century and is kept in the National Museum of Scotland. It is a sporran clasp with four concealed pistols which could be fired by turning a mechanism in the clasp. It was given by Francis MacNab of MacNab to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1783. When Scott saw the sporran he was so intrigued by it that he wrote
it into his novel, “Rob Roy”.

[BoldHighlander]

Thanks for the background info

[puffer]

According to the info I have, Walter Scott, used a pic of Prince Chas. wearing this sporran & attributed this to "Rob Roy"

still looking for the pic.

Puffer