It's interesting about the hair sporrans in the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century.
I think, looking at the photos, that many were horsehair, yet there was a different fashion or style of how the bottom should look.
For the entire Victorian period it was generally the fashion to have the bottom of the hair a bit scraggly-looking. Since this is seen over and over, and from the people who pay the utmost attention to their kit (like RSMs, Pipe Majors, Drum Majors, etc) it must have been intentional. In other words we're not seeing old worn-out sporrans in poor nick, but sporrans looking the way these people wanted them to look.
"Scraggly" isn't the right word, but the sporrans are made so that the various hairs end at various lengths, like when a beautician "feathers" somebody's hair. The hair isn't chopped clean off in a straight line or perfect curve.
Though this "feathered" look is generally what I see when I look over old photos, it certainly isn't universal, and I do see some sporrans with the more modern trimmed look
Specifically looking at the Black Watch, here c1855 you see the feathered look
Originally Posted by OC Richard
It's interesting about the hair sporrans in the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century.
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