Two new sporrans delivered

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I had two new sporrans delivered this week which I have been waiting on for some time.

I had acquired a while back a couple of old MoD sporrans from the 1950s with the hinged brass cantle tops that are getting harder and harder to come by. The leather bag on one of them was in pretty good condition and could have been worn as-is. The other bag was in rough shape but still functional. Regardless, I bought them for the cantles, not the bags. I sent them both to my favorite sporran maker, Lamar Adron Britt of Ferguson Britt Sporrans, to put new leather bags to the old cantles.

He actually has had them ready for a while but did not want to entrust them to any shipping means. He had to come in to the museum this week to pick up a bolt of tartan we had woven for him, his new "Ferguson Britt Green" design. So he was able to deliver these two beauties, one of which I plan on giving good wear at the Stone Mountain Highland Games next week.

Here's the first:

The leather on this one is deerskin. The really neat thing about it is that this is from a hide that Lamar has been sitting on for quite some time. It was from a deer that was shot by his uncle on a hunting trip in the 1950s. Lamar was just waiting for the right use for it, and fitting a bag to a 1950s era cantle seemed very appropriate. Although it is over 50 years old, the leather feels and looks brand new. The pouch is a modification of his standard "Duin Uasail" pattern with no tassels. The body is a bit longer than the usual MoD sporran bags that came with the cantle, which I found a bit small for someone of my height. (The tartan in the background is Old MacLachlan, FYI. Just an extra bit of tartan I had at hand.)

For the second sporran, I wanted something more formal. Lamar had some se@l skin which a friend of his gave him. Lovely pelt, but unfortunately he could not make anything to sell from it due to legal restrictions. However, there is nothing illegal about giving it away! (For the record, no cash was exchanged in this transaction). Here it is, in all it's glory.

This one will be reserved for more formal occasions. My only real formal sporran up till now has been a hair sporran, and I wanted something in my wardrobe for when I felt like something a bit less.... hairy. :-) This fits the bill perfectly in my book. (The tartan in the background is the Ferguson Britt Green tartan Lamar just had woven. It's one of three designs I have made for him. This length will be made into a four yard box pleated kilt for him.)

I haven't had a chance to wear the latter sporran yet, but I did wear the former deerskin one home that day and took a quick picture in my yard when I got home.


I've really been enjoying the cooler temperatures we've had in the mountains lately, giving me the chance to wear more jackets, waistcoats and bonnets.

Cheers!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

By the way, whenever I wear any sporran with a functioning brass cantle such as these, I invariably get people asking where they can buy one.

There is no current supplier manufacturing these. Your best bet is to find an old 1950s era MoD sporran and have a sporran maker fit a new bag to the cantle, as I did. (Unless you are lucky enough to find one with the bag in good shape and are happy with the bag as it is).

However, on a recent visit to Edinburgh I paid a visit to Chris Sharmen at Manacraft Leather, and he had some sporrans on the shelf in his shop that were new bags refitted to this same style old MoD cantle. I asked him about their availability. Whenever he can find one of these old cantles he makes a new bag for it and sells it in his shop. As of last month he had at least two or three on the shelf I recall seeing. Here's the web site:
http://www.manacraft.co.uk/

It's not set up for on line purchasing, but it would be worth a phone call if anyone is interested in this style sporran.

[BLHS209]

M.A.C. - The plaid / blanket that you are wearing - what pattern / tartan is that? The ends (the last foot or so) is an interesting affect.

Chris Shepherd

[Ryan Ross]

Awesome sporrans, Matt! As soon as I saw that se@l bag, I knew you'd be enamored... heck, I was enamored!

Fantastic look in that last picture, too. Is that the "shepherd's plaid" from here: http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/shepherds_plaid.htm ?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Yes, that is the shepherd's plaid that we sell at the museum.
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/shepherds_plaid.htm

A lot of portraits showing plaids worn in the nineteenth century show a striped pattern on the ends. I asked our weavers to replicate that effect and I am very happy in how it turned out. I will soon be adding this as an option to our order page for anyone who wants it.

Not to hijack my own thread, but here are some Richard Ansdell paintings that show this type of decorative end on plaids (not all being worn).

[CMcG]

With a little ingenuity, that which was old is new again!

[Jack Daw]

Oo! Beautiful sporrans, Matt.

[Ryan Ross]

Those plaids are sharp.

Back on to the sporrans though, I really love the little bit of dark coloration on the upper right of the se@l sporran. Really makes it visually interesting, though it's not as clear in a picture as in real life.

[artificer]

They are both absolutely beautiful.
What a wonderful history on the deerskin!

Congratulations to you both. BTW: The Britt Green tartan is lovely as well.

[Legba]

Very nice Sporrans!
The second one's a real Peach!!