Types of sporran

[ANCIENT OGILVIE HUNTING]

http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/...APFIT/ALEX.jpg

[xman]

... beautifully crafted ...

I'll say!

[BoldHighlander]

...beautifully crafted...

Originally Posted by xman
I'll say!

:mrgreen:

[BoldHighlander]

Nice!

[OC Richard]

What criteria define different sporran as being day, dress, semi-dress and hunting? As far as I have been able to discern, a day sporran is just leather with a flap that buttons over the front. A dress sporran is furry and has a cantle over the top. A semi-dress sporran is usually furry but has the flap over the front. For the hunting sporran, I have seen examples labeled as such though I am uncertain as to what distinguishes them.

Back in the 19th century these distinctions didn't exist and people wore long hair (goathair) sporrans both for Day Dress with tweed and Evening Dress finery. The difference was that the cantle would often be plain leather for Day Dress and silver for Evening Dress, but this wasn't always followed.
Occasionally animal mask sporrans and reproduction mid-18th century sporrans were worn but long hair sporrans were a vast majority.

The nearly universal look was more or less like this:





Then in the early 20th century Highland Dress became more compartmentalised or codified and new sporran styles emerged, both approximately the same shape: a plain leather pocket with flap for Day and short fur with a decorative silver cantle for Evening. Also, reproduction mid-18th century sporrans were popular for Day Dress and Hunting Sporrans appeared as well.

Day Dress (called "Outdoor Dress") and Evening dress became quite distinct with specialised jackets, sporrans, and footwear, as we can see here in the 1930s, first in the Henderson catalogue:



and in the Lawrie catalogue:



and in this 1950s Anderson catalogue:





Nowadays this all is breaking down somewhat. Hybrid sporrans have been made for years that combine elements from Day and Evening sporrans. And those lovely Britt sporrans fit in well with any form of Highland Dress.

And there are traditionalists like me who continue to wear 19th century long goathair sporrans for Day and Eve alike!

Here's the classic plain "outdoor" or "day" sporran that appeared in the early 20th century:



Here's an excellent Hunting Sporran by L&M.



Here's the sporrans shown in a 1930 catalogue:



and in the 1950s. Note the clear delineation between Day and Evening.

[Dale Seago]

Great descriptive summary and comparative illustrations!!

[Tim Little]

A couple more contemporary photos of the "swinging six" in daytime civilian use:

Our own BobsYourUncle (w. nephews):



And from the THCD photo thread:

[Ryan Ross]

Here's a fine example of the plain military styled day sporran that was beautifully crafted by our own Artificer:




When I commissioned Scott to craft Artficer #6, I found my inspiration in the post WW1 to WW2 era military sporrans (I have an original Australian Army version from late 1940 to 1950).

...and another:



What I wanted was a simple, bare-bones sporran that would be functional and good-looking. A millitary day style, but in black w/chrome seemed just the choice, and Scott did one heck of a job with it.

Come to day sporrans, I feel that the form and composition are more important than color. They should be plain leather (or brass-cantled) and at least relatively simple, but I think that both black and brown look good (depending on the outfit).

If someone's looking for a sporran, Scott (Artificer) or Lamar Britt (Ferguson Britt) are certainly at the top of a very short list of craftsman who still make very fine sporrans by hand.

[Tim Little]

Come to day sporrans, I feel that the form and composition are more important than color. They should be plain leather (or brass-cantled) and at least relatively simple, but I think that both black and brown look good (depending on the outfit).

I quite agree. In general I prefer the combination of black and silvertone to brown and brass. I don't own *any* brown shoes or belts, and when I wore a wristwatch, I'd only wear black/silvertone. I just feel it suits me better....

Until I buck up and get myself a Freelander (in black, of course!), this is what passes for my day sporran:



It's probably got too much hardware for some tastes -- and frankly it's too small to be really useful -- but by and large it works and I'm not embarrased to be seen in public with it.

In my opinion it works better in a less casual setting such as this:



Meanwhile, here's a pic (from a while back) showing the difference between a contemporary dress sporran on the left and what I'd call a semi-dress sporran -- it was a rental -- on the right:

[Tom0878Holly]

There have been many posts in relation to the Badger head sporran. The sporran comes from the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders ( Thin Red Line 1854 ect ) and was adopted by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1881 when the amalgamation or the 91st Argylls and 93rd Sutherlands took place. This sporran was worn by Officers and SNCOs up until the 06th of April 2006 when we all became the Royal Regiment of Androgenous Highlanders. We now wear the Old Black watch Officers sporran with the 2 Gordon Highlanders long Black Tassels ( MMMMMMMMMMMMM ).

The sporran produced by L & M Outfitters is a civilian version, It has an american badger ( Not British ) and sports 6 smooth Brass Cones. The military version is ornate with Thistles and leaves.

The other version is the volunteer or Territorial Army version which is done in white metal.

As indicated this sporran is noith: longer a military item so as such should be worn by all to retain the old traditions.