More Tartan ID's

[Hothir Ethelnor]

Very interesting responses. I should have guessed the Grant side because it is close to my own tartan (MacDonell of Keppoch) I can see the similarity now to the government sett with the back but it's proportions are off a bit.

[figheadair]

Matt,

The reference to the 1819 is in the STA's Db but I've no idea where that came from as it's not in it. I shall ask Brian to remove the reference.

MacLeay's print shows the simple 2/2 BW. I've seen a Wilsons' sample in a small setting attached to one of their letter in which it is referred to as Smallest 42nd. There is also a Wilsons' sample (ITI 255 but again with an unsubsantiated 1819 reference) in the Royal Scottish Museum but I've no idea in what size setting. Looking at MacLeay's other figures in 42nd based setts; Gordon, Forbes etc he seems to have got the 2/4 setting correct so one must assume that the 2/2 version of the 42nd on the Campbell was just that rather than the standard version. But I digress.

I've been thinking about my previous post in which I stated that the brown would have originally been black. Whilst it is true that K often fades to T in chemically dyed specimens of the period, the uniformity of the shade and the fact that what appear to be K lines on the reverse (Drummond/Grant) sett makes me wonder if in fact we are looking at a sett that was alway blue, green and brown rather than with black? If that were the case then were are dealing with something more akin to Htg Fraser.

Hothir, would it be possible to send me a couple of hi-res photos? That should enable me to settle the colour question.

Peter

I've still got the old STS software loaded on our computer, and No. 12 is there as "Campbell, the 42nd" and the notes say it was illustrated in Kenneth MacLeay's Highlanders of Scotland in 1870. I don't find any mention of the 1819 KPB.

Browsing through the MacLeay portraits on the STA site, I find that the depiction of Colin Campbell shows a variation of the Campbell tartan that seems to be only a half sett (the portion with the double pair of black lines is omitted).

The proportions are off somewhat, but the basic design seems the same. So a variation of the Campbell sett, then?

[Hothir Ethelnor]

Hothir, would it be possible to send me a couple of hi-res photos? That should enable me to settle the colour question.

Peter

The picture of the dark sett was taken with flash which brightened it quite a bit.

The "black" section is a very dark olive green it doesn't look very brown in person It also does not look anywhere near black.

All the darkest lines are definitely navy blue though.

[figheadair]

So 2 shades of green then?

The picture of the dark sett was taken with flash which brightened it quite a bit.

The "black" section is a very dark olive green it doesn't look very brown in person It also does not look anywhere near black.

All the darkest lines are definitely navy blue though.