Anderson 1936 catalogue

[David Thorpe]

And two more hunting sporrans! (16 & 17)

[longhuntr74]

...Many of the items originally belonging to our fathers and grandfathers we still wear in the Highlands because the quality was wear-forever and not meant to be thrown away within a few years.

...The rarity of the day and the individuality shown by some in Highland dress in the Highlands is rapidly becoming commonplace, even in the Highlands.

Well of course! With such limited options to choose from in the commercial market and fewer and fewer people able to AFFORD to commission a unique piece (or not prizing the kilt as an essential part of their identity and thus not being WILLING to spend that type of money even though they might be able to AFFORD to), even highlanders are likely to look more and more "uniform" over time. Copying is the most sincere form of flattery, after all!

[longhuntr74]

And two more hunting sporrans! (16 & 17)

David...Note that the TASSLES on those hunting sporrans are raised and separate from the face and then tacked down with stitches at the bottom...unlike modern hunter sporrans that typically only have flat pieces of leather stitched to the face. Rocky has a style very similar to these for sale, with the difference being that his are hard-faced like most modern hunting sporrans (or so it appears). The tassel styles are dead on though!

[Piipriker]

Indeed. In fact, I thought the comment on pg. 24 was interesting: "Most men like to wear kilt drawers, especially in the evening." So.... Being that I'm like "most men," the next time someone asks me whether I'm wearing my kilt "traditionally" I can smile confidently and reply, "Aye!"

me too (normally I hate those posts ;-)

Hejdå Jörg

[David Thorpe]

David...Note that the TASSLES on those hunting sporrans are raised and separate from the face and then tacked down with stitches at the bottom...unlike modern hunter sporrans that typically only have flat pieces of leather stitched to the face. Rocky has a style very similar to these for sale, with the difference being that his are hard-faced like most modern hunting sporrans (or so it appears). The tassel styles are dead on though!

I tacked (riveted) mine in the middle.

[OC Richard]

You have a wonderful collection of catalogues, Richard, but the ones being discussed are all for mail order from major outfitters in Lowland cities. It is no doubt true that some Highlanders ordered blind from these sources, but the others bought from local shops where the wares were more locally grown, and from local craftspeople working from their crofts and cottages.

Well, we historians have to work with the sources we have. It would be irresponsible in my opinion to throw out the sources that do exist, and place our stock in theoretical sources.

What may or may not be considered relevant is the situation with Highland Bagpipe makers. All evidence points to Highland pipes always having been made by professional makers in urban areas such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.

BTW these catalogues are of brick-and-mortar shops which anyone could walk into and see the things in person... no one had to order "blind".

[OC Richard]

I also liked the (fly) Plaid page, seems the practice is older than I was led to believe

For the record, none of my vintage catalogues list or illustrate "fly" plaids.

What they do list and illustrate are "belted" plaids, a rather heavy, complex, and expensive garment, one that is very labour-intensive to make (I know because I've made a few of them!)

A belted plaid has a cloth belt (hence the name) which is buckled around the waist. Issuing from the belt is a large rectangle of tartan, pleated where it joins the belt. This rectangle of tartan is fringed with rolled fringe on three sides. At the middle of the side opposite the belt is sewn a triangle of tartan, fringed on two sides. This bit goes through the epaulette of the jacket.

Here is a belted plaid



You hear them called "drummers' plaids" often nowadays, though they are not and have never been the exclusive provenance of drummers, but were common with civilian Evening Dress and a standard item of Army Officers' uniforms.

[Jock Scot]

Well, we historians have to work with the sources we have. It would be irresponsible in my opinion to throw out the sources that do exist, and place our stock in theoretical sources.

-------------

BTW these catalogues are of brick-and-mortar shops which anyone could walk into and see the things in person... no one had to order "blind".

It is quite true that historians have to work with the information that they have to hand, however, fortunate are they(historians) to have people around who have close to hand experience of the "actual" situation. Before long, even those will be gone and assumptions, theories and conclusions are in danger of becoming even more in-accurate.

Now, I quite accept that even "second hand" memories and conclusions are not always accurate either, but they are well worth listening to, even if those views rather inconveniently debunk the pet theories of the historians!

Whilst I was not around in the 1930's( I was born in 1940) I grew up with many that were around well before the '30's.So for what it is worth, most kilt attire was locally obtained and for most of the kilted locals around here, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh might as well have been on the moon. I was born into a fairly well travelled family, but even they regarded kilt attire bought from "afar" was for "pocket Scotsmen" or for a "Balmoral Highlander" and viewed with a certain amount of disdain. All rather unfair for the kilted locals of Aberdeen of course and it was not them that these rather caustic comments were aimed at! Somehow though, I do admit that a couple of very nice dress sporrans from a very smart shop(H&I) in Edinburgh have arrived in our midst over the ages, so some one must have ventured father afield to do their shopping!

Nevertheless, it is probably very difficult to relate to this way of thinking in this day and age , but exist it did.

[David Thorpe]

...What they do list and illustrate are "belted" plaids, a rather heavy, complex, and expensive garment, one that is very labour-intensive to make (I know because I've made a few of them!)...

Richard, I would very much like to learn more about the construction details of this type of plaid, as well as how it is properly worn. The late Scotty Thompson mentioned them in his book, but did not include nearly enough information for actually making one.

I assume that the white stitching in the photo is basting?

[longhuntr74]

Whilst I was not around in the 1930's( I was born in 1940) I grew up with many that were around well before the '30's.So for what it is worth, most kilt attire was locally obtained and for most of the kilted locals around here, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh might as well have been on the moon.

Nevertheless, it is probably very difficult to relate to this way of thinking in this day and age , but exist it did.

Wonderful insights Jock. In reference to the particular excerpt above, I can very well appreciate your point. This is the way it is to this day still in the remote areas of Afghanistan...some people have never been more than 2 villages away from HOME. Of course there are members of that same village who have been to Kabul or Kandahar...and there are even some who have been to other countries, but their tales when the come back home probably seem more like some wild story from the person's imagination rather than something REAL. Afghanistan has, oddly, allowed me to appreciate two of my interests in civilian life...the Scottish Highlanders and the Native Americans!