Seal skin sporrans?

[Lallans]

It's my understanding that seal skin really has only been 'traditional' for the last hundred years or so. More common animals seem to have been the norm prior to that...

Seals are common coastal animals, sometimes the most common mammal in those areas- and in the old days were free for the taking. I assume you're referring to horse and cow hair and hides but as someone already pointed out, you can make a lot of sporrans out of one 'free' seal. I was thinking it was a Scots economy, and a handsome one at that.

Anyway my current ss sporran may turn into a haggis skinned one should they become illegal.

[OC Richard]

Richard, being something of a sporran historian as it were, when do you think that the seal became the default animal for providing skins for sporrans? I know that sealskin sporrans were quite unknown throughout the 19th century when everyone was wearing goat's hair or horsehair; and though they are mentioned along with animals such as badger, otter, fox, pine marten and wildcat, as one of the choice available for sporrans in the early years of the 20th century, no one seems to have been wearing them very much during the Edwardian period. So when did the day of the sealskin sporran first dawn? Was it the 1920's? the 1930's? or slightly later?

"Sporran Historian" ! I suppose so... I just bought a nice Victorian cantle on Ebay the other day... one just can't have enough Victorian and Edwardian sporrans!

Anyhow, sealskin was common in the late 18th and early 19th century:



But then it looks like the style changed, and everyone started going for long hair, goathair initially it seems.

By the 1830's all the regiments had gone over to long hair:



In The Highlanders of Scotland sealskin doesn't appear, as far as I can see. There is one guy wearing a mid-18th century sporran and one guy wearing an early 19th century sporran. These would have been 100 years old and 50 years old at the time (1860s).

As far as I can verify, it wasn't until around 1900 or so until the long hair sporrans fell out of favour and were replaced by new (or revived) styles.

For "outdoor wear" it was a pocket with a flap. My present theory is that these may have started in the early 20th century Army, but I have little evidence.

This pocket-with-flap could also be made of seal.

Here they are in a catalogue from the 1930's.



But the most common seal sporran was made in vague imitation of an 18th century sporran, with a curved cantle. However this was a nonfunctional decorative cantle, not the fully functioning hinged 18th century cantle.

Here's an interesing catalogue from the 1930's showing a reproduction 18th century sporran for day wear, and the new evening dress sporran:

[D.A. Guertin]

Any info on the fellow in the first photo with the basket-hilted broadsword? I don't know that I've yet seen a 'square' sporran like that...

[Highland Logan]

Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton

Any info on the fellow in the first photo with the basket-hilted broadsword? I don't know that I've yet seen a 'square' sporran like that...

[D.A. Guertin]

Excellent, thanks very much! Will have to play around with a pattern for that style. Maybe I'll do it in Kudu... Should be interesting!

[Lallans]

More sealskin activism can be seen here, the Barbie Twins of Royal Family notoriety vs a Liberal Party Senator:

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics...50846-qmi.html

This is really something of a spectator sport in Canada, watching the rich and gormless attacking the poor and voiceless (I do not include the Senator in either category... well, not on this issue anyway.)

[artificer]

More sealskin activism can be seen here, the Barbie Twins of Royal Family notoriety vs a Liberal Party Senator:

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics...50846-qmi.html

This is really something of a spectator sport in Canada, watching the rich and gormless attacking the poor and voiceless (I do not include the Senator in either category... well, not on this issue anyway.)

Wow, If I ever needed a reason to club baby seals, it's to anger people like the Barbie twins and Ken Wahl... No offense to Prince William, of course.

[okiwen]

EXACTLY!!!
No one cares if a mouse dies, it's gross and ugly, but the cute seals must be preserved..........I have a word for that type of thinking......


DUMB!!!

Not true..Kangaroo rat!!! Hello! Can't use acres and acres of property if they are found to live on YOURS.

[okiwen]

I will have to settle for a little skunk lapel pin, if I can find one, because a new sporran is not in my near future.

I wonder if a zebra design could be made of a horse hair sporran; better yet, a zebra hair sporran. That would probably be very expencive.

It is an older hide that I have been researching the perfect pattern for a sporran myself. I want to insure that the hair stays on so I have been trying to see how to fix it. I also have hyena and a giraffe. Do you know anyone that wants a full elephant skull? I have had to move it four times and it is very heavy!

[okiwen]

I had the perfect skunk skinned out too. I ended up getting rid of it because I didn't have the time to make a sporran before I needed the freezer space. Oh well. Next time.