Quality Sporrans for less money

[Wingnut037]

It's gone already!

There have been times when I've been tempted to buy a sporran I don't want just to get the cool chain.

Is the rear pocket style typically an indicator of being older, or more maker dependent? I have another sporran with a rear opening vs the rest at the top. I find it a bit less practical for modern accessories that were never intended for a sporran.

I am still searching for a long link chain myself.

[OC Richard]

Is the rear pocket style typically an indicator of being older, or more maker dependent?

I'm not sure when they switched from having sporrans opening at the top (like 18th century sporrans) to having a closed top with a pocket on the back.

For sure all the old sporrans I've seen, the long-hair Victorian civilian and military sporrans, have a closed top and pocket on the back. Sometimes they left off the pocket so there's not even a pretense of practical use.

Civilian Evening Dress sporrans, the smaller rounded seal ones, that I've seen from the 1920s through the 1940s are made like that too.

These were transformed by a patent applied for in 1953 by William Elder Scott, an Edinburgh sporran maker (who had established his firm in 1937).

Prior to this the cantles on long hair Evening sporrans and the smaller seal Evening sporrans had had a back-plate, generally with two small rings to attach the chain strap to.

The Scott patent got rid of the back-plate, the cantle now just having a front and side. He made the whole top of the sporran open, fastened when shut by a small leather strap or tab, and a stud or press-button. Fairly soon all Evening sporrans were being made like this, patent or no.

Here's a pre-1953 Evening Dress sporran. As you see the pocket is about as big as possible, yet it's far from being a practical sporran.



Here's the evolution of the 20th century Evening Dress sporran backs.

Left is the old-school way, unchanged since at least the mid-19th century.

Centre is the Forsyth solution, making as much of the back open up as possible given the restrictions of the old-style cantle.

Right is the WE Scott 1953 Patent design which involved simplifying the cantle by getting rid of the back-plate. Originally these were scored across the back to form sort of a hinge. This was later dropped, as was the Patent stamp itself.



Though we should be aware that starting, what, perhaps as early as the 1880s there was a bit of a fad for "revival" sporrans, re-imaginings of mid-18th century sporrans, a fad that peaked around 1890 to 1910, which had the hinged opening purse-like cantle and fully accessible body. The King owns one of these. His is on the plain side, while many of these were incredibly ornate, with tons of knobs and tassels and bells and Celtic knotwork tooling, dark brown leather dripping with silver ornaments. Sir Harry Lauder and piper John Burgess owned examples of these.



Here's the King's "revival" sporran, when new, and recently.

[OC Richard]

Back to Ebay, here's a WE Scott evening seal sporran for ten pounds.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/32646382763...Bk9SR9TuxLitZQ

[jsrnephdoc]

Here's the King's "revival" sporran, when new, and recently.

The photo on the left tells me that "Kilt Pockets" are not a new invention, unless I have no idea what I'm looking at.

I’m “allergic” to eBay, but assuming the other photos are from your personal collection I’ll ask your opinion of dress sporrans featuring Red Fox fur and 3 bulbous fur tassles? Would a yellow bras cantle mandate a brass kilt pin and Cap badge?

Here's one for "offer" (REALLY pricey) from Kinloch-Anderson, but they're often even MORE expensive from similar Glasgow and Edinburgh high end shops:

On the other hand, I'm clearly not in search of "authenticity" at any cost; some of the "full head" hunting Sporrans would put me at risk of legal separation, or at least my spouse running screaming from the room!

[User]

The photo on the left tells me that "Kilt Pockets" are not a new invention, unless I have no idea what I'm looking at.
...

I'm pretty sure you're mistaking the bottom of his jacket for pockets on his kilt.

[figheadair]

The photo on the left tells me that "Kilt Pockets" are not a new invention, unless I have no idea what I'm looking at.

They are not kilt pockets but Taches or Inverness Flaps on the doublet. They are still found on modern (Regulation) Doublets.

20250307_081442.jpg

[OC Richard]

Here's another WE Scott seal Evening sporran for 10 pounds.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12697430048...Bk9SR87ipYCuZQ

[OC Richard]

The photo on the left tells me that "Kilt Pockets" are not a new invention, unless I have no idea what I'm looking at.

As Peter mentions, they're the pockets of a Doublet.

Doublets were by far the most often-seen Evening jacket in the Victorian period. They were made in an endless variety of styles.



What defines a "Doublet" in the Highland Dress sense of the word (there were "doublets" in Renaissance Europe which were different) are the pockets. I've heard these pockets called various things including "Inverness flaps" and "Inverness skirts" which I don't care for because they, well, skirt around the fact that these are pockets.

I much prefer another term I've heard "Inverness tashes" ("pockets" cf German taschen).

I’ll ask your opinion of dress sporrans featuring Red Fox fur and 3 bulbous fur tassles?

Here's one for "offer" (REALLY pricey) from Kinloch-Anderson...

My opinion is that it's hideous. Not fox per se which can be very nice, but that horrid cantle.

Would a yellow brass cantle mandate a brass kilt pin and Cap badge?

That gets into the "mixing metals" thing. Traditionally cap badges and kilt pins, all "Highland ornaments" in fact, were usually German Silver or Sterling Silver.

And it hasn't been uncommon for brown day-dress Hunting sporrans and revival Culloden sporrans to have brass hardware.

It hasn't bothered life-long Scottish kilt-wearers. It's usually Americans new to kilt-wearing who want to match things.

Even more so in Highland military uniform were gold and silver freely mixed.

Here are Black Watch pipers. If a new civilian pipe band was putting together their Full Dress kit they'd not want gold sporrans, jacket buttons, jacket lace to pair with silver waistbelt & crossbelt hardware and plaid brooches. In fact the piper's dirks are silver while the Pipe Major's dirk is gold. Note the Pipe Major's crossbelt badge is bi-metal in itself. (I do wonder what's worrying Pipie.)

...some of the "full head" hunting Sporrans would put me at risk of legal separation, or at least my spouse running screaming from the room!

For sure I used to have a badger mask sporran and I was made to feel uncomfortable at some of the venues I was piping at, what with the high percentage of Vegans and PETA and SPCA people we have here in California. (Their kids, on the other hand, were fascinated and delighted by the thing.)

[jsrnephdoc]

As Peter mentions, they're the pockets of a Doublet.

Except that he also said they're not pockets, so I'm still confused regarding terminology vs. accessibility. Could one put things in them? (Low on the need to know scale, even approaching my 78th birthday and needing places to store my gadgets, including AirTags to paste on my AirTags – sometimes I think I should swallow one of them so I could find myself)! Long and short of it, however, I have NO need for a doublet.

Traditionally cap badges and kilt pins, all "Highland ornaments" in fact, were usually German Silver or Sterling Silver.

Must admit that's the first time I've ever heard of "German Silver." I had to look it up. But I'm VERY happy to know that "mixing metals" is not a sartorial sin.

My opinion is that it's hideous. Not fox per se which can be very nice, but that horrid cantle.

Originally I'd planned to post a pic of a red fox fur sporran from USA kilts, but I chose that one because if it's good enough for the guys whose customer mailing list includes "His Royal Highness" it MUST be good enough for me, but I didn't like the cantle either! But, my real jeopardy after being tossed out onto the street for asking my wife to fasten the sporran strap of a full head fur sporran here in Montana would not come from a fervent PETA apostle, but rather from some guy who spotted me and mused "well, at least ONE of my hunting licenses must cover that…"

So, how about this alternative, from USA Kilts (obviously not antique, and I think made in the USA)?

[Tomo]

Originally I'd planned to post a pic of a red fox fur sporran from USA kilts...

Why not taker a look at Margaret Morrison - they supply a lot of the kilt trade (including KA) and invariably you can buy the same sporran from MM for less than any of the retailers who add their own mark up. MM will also make bespoke sporrans to your own requirements. Even if you don't go with MM, it's a great site to check out different sporran styles.

https://morrison-sporrans.co.uk/search?q=fox