William Anderson Dress Sporran

[TheOfficialBren]

It's a lovely sporran whatever you decide, cos.

:thumbs up:

[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

[artificer]

. . . 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

Lovely! One thing you might consider making or having made for your freshly plated sporran is a liner to go between the metal and the fur.

It will cut down on both the corrosion (and green/black buff-off on the fur) where the two meet as well as the chance of getting silver polish on your nice fur.

Something in the BR Green to match the backside would be quite striking, of course red and black are very traditional colours as well.

ith:

[creagdhubh]

Well done! Your sporran looks amazing!

Cheers,

[Grizzly]

That's a great find mate, I hope it works out at the silversmiths. For £25 notes that is a bargain.