William Anderson Dress Sporran

[StevieR]

So, I have been searching for some time for a nice dress sporran. I could find nothing I liked and although I was prepared to pay a few quid nothing brand new appealed to me at all. In the last few days I have been fortunate enough to have completed a transaction with a very nice chap, for a vintage sporran that fits the bill nicely. It has a very plain, silver plated cantle (stamped with a small fleur de lys on the back) that needs re-plating - no big problem - is sealskin and the lettering on the back informs me that William Anderson and Sons Ltd., Military Outfitters, Edinburgh and Glasgow supplied it. The inside of the purse is nicely lined with chamois.

I understand the sporran may date from the 1950's and wondered if William Anderson was the precursor to Kinloch Anderson? Any information would be appreciated.

There is a small piece of fur missing from the side of the sporran. Not too bad looking. Do I leave it or attempt to make a repair (if so how - a bit of fur from under the cantle glued into place?).

Finally, I have a mind to (maybe) make some embellishments to the cantle. I very much like the Jacobite design of pierced hearts and engraved bullseyes, which might prove costly but could, I think, be done by a competent jeweller. Any thoughts or opinions?

Here is my new sporran:

IMG_0160.jpg
IMG_0161 2.jpg

. . . and an idea of what I mean by "hearts and bullseyes", pinched from another thread:

DSCF0143.jpg

[creagdhubh]

Very smart sporran, Stevie! Well done indeed. If it was my sporran, I would not attempt to repair it myself; rather, I'd have a reputable sporran maker take a look at it and see what they can do, or what their professional recommendations would be. As far as the cantle embellishments are concerned, I am quite fond of the pierced hearts and engraved bullseyes myself, so again, I'd speak with a reputable sporran maker (Artificer keeps coming to mind) to see what the costs would be to have this done properly and to your specifications. I will say, that I do like the cantle in its present form, yet I completely understand your desire to "paint the blank canvas" so to speak. I know you didn't mention the silver tassel bells (cones), but I would recommend leaving them as they are if you should decide to have the cantle altered.

[StevieR]

Very smart sporran, Steve! Well done indeed. If it was my sporran, I would not attempt to repair it myself; rather, I'd have a reputable sporran maker take a look at it and see what they can do, or what their professional recommendations would be. As far as the cantle embellishments are concerned, I am quite fond of the pierced hearts and engraved bullseyes myself, so again, I'd speak with a reputable sporran maker (Artificer keeps coming to mind) to see what the costs would be to have this done properly and to your specifications. I will say, that I do like the cantle in its present form, yet I completely understand your desire to "paint the blank canvas" so to speak. I know you didn't mention the silver tassel bells, but I would recommend leaving them as they are if you should decide to have the cantle altered.

Sage advice as always Kyle. Thankyou. . . and fear not, those lovely tassel bells are in fine condition and will be staying exactly where they are.

[creagdhubh]

Sage advice as always Kyle. Thankyou. . . and fear not, those lovely tassel bells are in fine condition and will be staying exactly where they are.

No worries. And best of luck with everything!

Cheers,

[StevieR]

So, just a quick update:

The sealskin bag had a short visit to a local taxidermist. A smidge of dye has darkened the very light skin exposed by the missing fur so that this tiny piece of damage in now virtually unnoticeable (no charge).

The cantle has just been returned by the silversmith in my town. The work I was considering can be done, but as advised here, would be very, very expensive. Replating the cantle and bells though, is relatively inexpensive, at about £85. So, for just about £100 I will have a fully refurbished vintage dress sporran.

I did write to the sporran's maker, to see if they could provide any information on its history. I had a very nice reply from John Kinloch Anderson, who had taken the trouble to research some of the KA archives. My sporran model does indeed feature in the 1936 catalogue, but John pointed out that it is also included in catalogues before and after that date. It is though, at least fifty years old and it was good to have its provenance confirmed by KA.

The seller has also let me know that the previous owner was, by coincidence, a fellow clan member. To commemorate his and my ownership I have a small sterling silver fern (once a tie pin) that I will pin to the inside of the purse.

That's it then. I have been on the lookout for a dress sporran for a long time and am delighted to say the least. Cheers for the advice chaps.

[artificer]

So, just a quick update:

The sealskin bag had a short visit to a local taxidermist. A smidge of dye has darkened the very light skin exposed by the missing fur so that this tiny piece of damage in now virtually unnoticeable (no charge).

The cantle has just been returned by the silversmith in my town. The work I was considering can be done, but as advised here, would be very, very expensive. Replating the cantle and bells though, is relatively inexpensive, at about £85. So, for just about £100 I will have a fully refurbished vintage dress sporran.

I did write to the sporran's maker, to see if they could provide any information on its history. I had a very nice reply from John Kinloch Anderson, who had taken the trouble to research some of the KA archives. My sporran model does indeed feature in the 1936 catalogue, but John pointed out that it is also included in catalogues before and after that date. It is though, at least fifty years old and it was good to have its provenance confirmed by KA.

The seller has also let me know that the previous owner was, by coincidence, a fellow clan member. To commemorate his and my ownership I have a small sterling silver fern (once a tie pin) that I will pin to the inside of the purse.

That's it then. I have been on the lookout for a dress sporran for a long time and am delighted to say the least. Cheers for the advice chaps.

Sorry, Steve, that's the kind of thing I hate being right about.

It was lovely of Mr. Anderson to dig through their archives for you. One other note, you might have the silversmith check the interior of the cantle before it's cleaned and re-plated. I've seen workshop notes written on the interiors of some (in what appears to be a grease pencil) with a year and style/configuration notes. It's a bit of a long-shot, but you never know, it might yield something additional in terms of just when it was made.

BTW: Do make sure to post pictures when you get your freshly re-plated treasure back.

ith:

[StevieR]

Sorry, Steve, that's the kind of thing I hate being right about.

It was lovely of Mr. Anderson to dig through their archives for you. One other note, you might have the silversmith check the interior of the cantle before it's cleaned and re-plated. I've seen workshop notes written on the interiors of some (in what appears to be a grease pencil) with a year and style/configuration notes. It's a bit of a long-shot, but you never know, it might yield something additional in terms of just when it was made.

BTW: Do make sure to post pictures when you get your freshly re-plated treasure back.

ith:

Yes and yes. Cheers Scott.

[StevieR]

. . . and here it is. Cantle, bells and chains all silver plated to the appropriate British Standard. I think I'll be treating it to a nice belt now!



IMG_0164.jpg IMG_0167.jpg

[Tim Little]

Finally, I have a mind to (maybe) make some embellishments to the cantle. I very much like the Jacobite design of pierced hearts and engraved bullseyes, which might prove costly but could, I think, be done by a competent jeweller. Any thoughts or opinions?

Here is my new sporran:

IMG_0160.jpg
IMG_0161 2.jpg

. . . and an idea of what I mean by "hearts and bullseyes", pinched from another thread:

DSCF0143.jpg

I also love that pierced-heart cantle and think it would be a perfect complement to your Anderson sporran.

[StevieR]

Well, well, well. Browsing an old thread of OC Richards - trad 'canon' of sporran styles - I think my sporran design appears in the 1936 Anderson catalogue. Evening sporran no. 6, grey sealskin, plain top, silver plated, £4 and 10 shillings (about £275 today)!

XMTS - what an outstanding resource!