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  1. #1
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    Who was "TD" (sporran maker)?

    This lovely seal PC-style sporran is up on Ebay now (collage, lower left).

    The leather is stamped

    TD Made In Scotland

    (Collage, lower right.)

    If the cantle bears silver hallmarks the seller hasn't mentioned it.

    Interestingly the horsehair sporran (collage, upper right) is said to have a cantle stamped TD.

    There's no online list of sporran leather stamps (other than the scattered photos I've posted here) but there is of Silver Maker's Marks and there are three Scottish makers who used the TD stamp:

    Thomas Davie, Greenock.
    Thomas Drysdale, Edinburgh.
    unknown TD, Glasgow. (EDIT: probably Thomas Dunlop, see below.)

    All three are known from silverwork done in the first half of the 19th century and thus are unlikely for a sporran probably made c1930-1950.

    The cantle at upper left, which appears to be German Silver, is of the same style as the horsehair sporran cantle and I think is by the same maker.

    Any thoughts?

    Last edited by OC Richard; 20th November 22 at 05:28 AM.
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

  2. #2
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    Another sporran stamped TD Made In Scotland has just appeared on Ebay.

    Unlike the unique designs above, this is in a standard design which is seen as far back as Victorian times and is still in wide production today. The cantle here is a much nicer casting that what's usually seen nowadays.

    Age can be guessed from the presence of the press-button snap closure.

    Catalogues from the 1960s on call it PSCT (pipers' sporran cast top, I assume).

    Usually seen in white with two black tassels, it's also made in black with two white tassels as seen here, and also a number of other tassel arrangements.

    Last edited by OC Richard; 20th November 22 at 05:24 AM.
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

  3. #3
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    I believe I now know who the sporran maker TD was: Thomas Dunlop, Glasgow.

    Here's his stamp which helpfully has a date. It's probably a sporran made for the military, as dates are common on those but rare on civilian sporrans.

    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

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