OLD sporran how old ?

[Norbo]

Its the large one on the left the other child one is all so very old may be 30's 40's but has no date stamp on it but the large one on the left is date stamped 1926 on the back under the makers name

[matthewtanner]

very nice sporran norbo that childs one is great too . and thanks for the link downunder kilt much appreciated

[Bruce Scott]

I can't help with dating the sporran but this may also be of interest regarding the 27th Battalion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27th_Ba...28Australia%29

[OC Richard]

Matthew I've seen hundreds of those old military sporrans, enough to get a 'feel' about what makes sense and what doesn't, oftentimes.

It's very common to see old sporrans floating around Ebay or in the hands of collectors which have been altered, usually by switching cantles, or badges, or tassels. This often leads to false identifications.

I'd have to see that sporran in person to be sure, but from the photos it seems to me that the cantle isn't original. It looks newer than the sporran, and looks like it's a different size, and that a gasket was added to make it fit. Odd that the rim has an attachment at the top; usually they have only the two at the sides.

Dating that sporran body is nearly impossible (unless there's a date or other clues stamped on the back) because identical sporrans were made for the military from the 1840s up through the 1950s. You can have a sporran made in 1880, and one made in 1910, and one made in 1940, and line them up side by side and all might look absolutely identical in every detail.

I'd look and see if there's evidence of that sporran once having tassels; that would be holes on the back, or on the inside.

Nathan's sporran on the left is another example of people later switching things about. It has an Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders cap badge stuck on it; they never wore that badge on their sporrans.

The style of cantle is that worn by The Black Watch, but of course they would have worn five short tassels. I wonder if a pattern of five holes can be seen on the back or on the inside of that sporran. The tassels don't look original to the sporran.

That sporran might have started out, back in 1926, looking like this

[Nathan]

Nathan's sporran on the left is another example of people later switching things about. It has an Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders cap badge stuck on it; they never wore that badge on their sporrans.

I'm guessing you meant Norbo?

[OC Richard]

Yep sorry... it'll teach me to not post when half asleep

[Ron Abbott]

Looks like it may be original, just missing the bells/cones and tassels.

This one is purported to be 27th as well:-

http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/REL31852.002

And for a photo of officer/men of the 27th actually wearing that pattern of sporran, view:-

http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...ad.php?t=25242

Both these sites mention 1939.