The Highlanders of Scotland

[mull]

After having been teased by several pictures from this book posted here, I went to the local college to see if they could get a copy to view. No luck. While there are several copies within 50 miles, no one will loan the book out.

If anyone wished to post more pics from it to hold me over until I can make the drive to view it in person, you would certainly have my undying appreciation.
Joe

[creagdhubh]

After having been teased by several pictures from this book posted here, I went to the local college to see if they could get a copy to view. No luck. While there are several copies within 50 miles, no one will loan the book out.

If anyone wished to post more pics from it to hold me over until I can make the drive to view it in person, you would certainly have my undying appreciation.
Joe

Hey Joe,

You can view all of Macleay's portraits at the following website below. you can also purchase prints suitable for custom framing from the website as well. It is an awesome site! Enjoy!

http://http://www.imagekind.com/macleay_poster


Bill Lee-Smith, Stephanie Macpherson and Kyle Macpherson-Clan Macpherson AGM in Monterey, CA 2008

[NewEnglander]

Can someone provide the full title and author of the book?

[NewEnglander]

Hey Joe,

You can view all of Macleay's portraits at the following website below. you can also purchase prints suitable for custom framing from the website as well. It is an awesome site! Enjoy!

Sorry, cousin. The link didn't work for me...

[HarborSpringsPiper]

Try this one. http://www.imagekind.com/GalleryProf...adf0879287&P=1

[CMcG]

Awesome, what bounty! I've been collecting those watercolours as I come across them but it is great to see them all together.

[mull]

Great link. I was going to say it was the best resource I have found yet, but clearly, you, my fellow X-markers have that distinction.
You're fast too.

Thanks,
Joe

[mull]

So on to the next question.

In reviewing the pictures I notice Archibald MacIntosh is wearing a vest that appears more like a sleeveless coat. It looks longer than the other vests and has piping on the lower pockets, almost tashlike. He is also wearing his belt over it like it was a doublet. The buttons on it also seem to go off up the right side instead of being centered.


Can anyone tell me more about this garment? Am I just looking at it too hard?

Thanks,
Joe

[M. A. C. Newsome]

So on to the next question.

In reviewing the pictures I notice Archibald MacIntosh is wearing a vest that appears more like a sleeveless coat. It looks longer than the other vests and has piping on the lower pockets, almost tashlike. He is also wearing his belt over it like it was a doublet. The buttons on it also seem to go off up the right side instead of being centered.


Can anyone tell me more about this garment? Am I just looking at it too hard?

Thanks,
Joe

Observations seem to be spot on -- and he seems to also be wearing a cravat in his tartan, most likely in silk, if I had to guess.

If you look underneath the doublet of the gentleman next to him, it would seem as if he were wearing a similarly styled waistcoat.

[OC Richard]

As a big historic Highland Dress fanatic, I just had to have this book. Two copies now: one went fairly cheaply on Ebay a few weeks ago and I couldn't resist.

The full title etc

The Highlanders Of Scotland
The Complete Watercolours Commissioned by Queen Victoria from Kenneth MacLeay
1986 Haggerston Press London

Spending a lot of time closely examining the portraits was fascinating and challenged many of my long-held beliefs about Highland Dress.

In my historian/anal/OCD way, I catalogued what the 56 kilted figures and wearing. Keep in mind that only four are wearing military uniform.

Sporrans:
46 long hair (goat/horse) (including 16 being worn with tweed day jackets)
5 animal mask (badger, racoon, musquash?)
2 with large fur bodies like the animal mask, but lacking the face
1 antique 18th century (the only leather sporran in evidence)
1 antique c1810
1 no sporran
(no sporrans corresponding to our modern day wear leather pocket w/flap, no sporrans quite like our modern evening dress sporran)

Footwear:
25 mary jane style (only 15 have buckles both above and below the opening as is common today)
11 ghillie style (all tan, brown, or grey save for one in black, bearing buckles)
10 ordinary shoes
5 buckle loafers
3 ankle boots
1 spats
1 unique shoe halfway between mary janes and ghillies

Jackets:
24 "celtic" jackets (open collars and lapels, Inverness tashes, Argyll cuffs)
21 day jackets
4 with open collars and lapels, Argyll cuffs, cutaway bottom
3 military style doublets
2 shell jackets
2 "Harris men" in distinctive buttonless jackets
(no Prince Charlies, Montrose doublets, etc)

Headwear:
25 plain glengarries
22 plain balmorals
3 diced balmorals (one diced as modern ones, one with one-row dicing, one with tiny intricate 3-row dicing)
(no diced glens)

Hose:
24 diced (three have plain turnover cuffs)
13 tartan
11 self-coloured (taupe, grey, charcoal)
1 knit with deerhead pattern in green and red

Flashes:
40 with no flashes
5 red
3 red with elaborate bow
1 red bow
1 red garters tied over cuffs of hose
2 red with contrasting edging
1 red & green striped
1 red/green/white striped
1 possibly Royal Stuart tartan, or perhaps striped

Waistbelts:
(of figures wearing unbuttoned jackets, with vests)
16 no visible waistbelts
8 belts over jacket and vest
2 over vest, under jacket
1 over vest, no jacket
(no vests tucked into kilts, no belts peeking out from under vests)
31 waistbelts supporting dirks
3 waistbelts without dirks

Crossbelts: all but two are supporting swords

Cap Badges:
25 glens w/visible badges
22 balmorals w/visible badges
1 glen without badge or cockade
3 balmorals without badge

Kilt Pins (where that part of the kilt is visible)
27 kilts with no kilt pins
5 kilts with pins
1 kilt with rosettes

Weaponry:
32 dirks
28 basket hilt swords
17 sginean
5 targes
4 powder horns
4 pikes
3 shotguns
2 pairs of Highland pistols
1 rifle with bayonet
1 antique 18th century claymore

Plaids:
25 long
8 belted
7 loosely wrapped blanketlike plaids worn without brooch
(33 total plaid brooches)