Anderson 1936 catalogue

[OC Richard]

About the ghillies with buckles, no ghillie brogues at all appear in my 1920s RG Lawrie catalogue, only "Mary Jane" buckled brogues, soft dancing ghillies, and an interesting style of shoe no longer made (but which also appears in The Highlanders of Scotland) cut like a Mary Jane but lacing across the large opening.

Speaking of The Highlanders of Scotland, all the ghillie brogues seen there are tan rough leather (showing it to be a rural outdoor shoe) save for one pair in black which BTW has buckles attached.

In my 1930s Paisley catalogue ghillie brogues aren't illustrated on the page of shoe styles; four styles of Men's shoes are shown 1) ordinary shoes 2) ordinary shoes with a decorative fringed flap which covers the laced area 3) "Mary Jane" style buckled brogues and 4) slip-on buckled loafers.

However ghillie brogues (without buckles) appear on one of the Men's Evening Dress outfits, one of the Boy's outfits, and two of the Women's outfits (yes worn with female hosiery, and laced around the ankle).

[Jock Scot]

1980's? Thats new in our terms!

[ThistleDown]

You have a wonderful collection of catalogues, Richard, but the ones being discussed are all for mail order from major outfitters in Lowland cities. It is no doubt true that some Highlanders ordered blind from these sources, but the others bought from local shops where the wares were more locally grown, and from local craftspeople working from their crofts and cottages. The variety was perhaps greater until after the war when the regimentation of the catalogue took over. (We stopped making bread about the same time, in favour of the white loaf brought to the villages in vans every week). Many of the items originally belonging to our fathers and grandfathers we still wear in the Highlands because the quality was wear-forever and not meant to be thrown away within a few years.

Some of the styles folks turned their noses up on XMarks just three or so years ago are now praised and there is a scrambling to find. Or re-invent. The rarity of the day and the individuality shown by some in Highland dress in the Highlands is rapidly becoming commonplace, even in the Highlands.

[longhuntr74]

...Many of the items originally belonging to our fathers and grandfathers we still wear in the Highlands because the quality was wear-forever and not meant to be thrown away within a few years.

...The rarity of the day and the individuality shown by some in Highland dress in the Highlands is rapidly becoming commonplace, even in the Highlands.

Well of course! With such limited options to choose from in the commercial market and fewer and fewer people able to AFFORD to commission a unique piece (or not prizing the kilt as an essential part of their identity and thus not being WILLING to spend that type of money even though they might be able to AFFORD to), even highlanders are likely to look more and more "uniform" over time. Copying is the most sincere form of flattery, after all!

[OC Richard]

You have a wonderful collection of catalogues, Richard, but the ones being discussed are all for mail order from major outfitters in Lowland cities. It is no doubt true that some Highlanders ordered blind from these sources, but the others bought from local shops where the wares were more locally grown, and from local craftspeople working from their crofts and cottages.

Well, we historians have to work with the sources we have. It would be irresponsible in my opinion to throw out the sources that do exist, and place our stock in theoretical sources.

What may or may not be considered relevant is the situation with Highland Bagpipe makers. All evidence points to Highland pipes always having been made by professional makers in urban areas such as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.

BTW these catalogues are of brick-and-mortar shops which anyone could walk into and see the things in person... no one had to order "blind".

[Jock Scot]

Well, we historians have to work with the sources we have. It would be irresponsible in my opinion to throw out the sources that do exist, and place our stock in theoretical sources.

-------------

BTW these catalogues are of brick-and-mortar shops which anyone could walk into and see the things in person... no one had to order "blind".

It is quite true that historians have to work with the information that they have to hand, however, fortunate are they(historians) to have people around who have close to hand experience of the "actual" situation. Before long, even those will be gone and assumptions, theories and conclusions are in danger of becoming even more in-accurate.

Now, I quite accept that even "second hand" memories and conclusions are not always accurate either, but they are well worth listening to, even if those views rather inconveniently debunk the pet theories of the historians!

Whilst I was not around in the 1930's( I was born in 1940) I grew up with many that were around well before the '30's.So for what it is worth, most kilt attire was locally obtained and for most of the kilted locals around here, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh might as well have been on the moon. I was born into a fairly well travelled family, but even they regarded kilt attire bought from "afar" was for "pocket Scotsmen" or for a "Balmoral Highlander" and viewed with a certain amount of disdain. All rather unfair for the kilted locals of Aberdeen of course and it was not them that these rather caustic comments were aimed at! Somehow though, I do admit that a couple of very nice dress sporrans from a very smart shop(H&I) in Edinburgh have arrived in our midst over the ages, so some one must have ventured father afield to do their shopping!

Nevertheless, it is probably very difficult to relate to this way of thinking in this day and age , but exist it did.

[longhuntr74]

Whilst I was not around in the 1930's( I was born in 1940) I grew up with many that were around well before the '30's.So for what it is worth, most kilt attire was locally obtained and for most of the kilted locals around here, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh might as well have been on the moon.

Nevertheless, it is probably very difficult to relate to this way of thinking in this day and age , but exist it did.

Wonderful insights Jock. In reference to the particular excerpt above, I can very well appreciate your point. This is the way it is to this day still in the remote areas of Afghanistan...some people have never been more than 2 villages away from HOME. Of course there are members of that same village who have been to Kabul or Kandahar...and there are even some who have been to other countries, but their tales when the come back home probably seem more like some wild story from the person's imagination rather than something REAL. Afghanistan has, oddly, allowed me to appreciate two of my interests in civilian life...the Scottish Highlanders and the Native Americans!

[ThistleDown]

Well, we historians have to work with the sources we have. It would be irresponsible in my opinion to throw out the sources that do exist, and place our stock in theoretical sources.

BTW these catalogues are of brick-and-mortar shops which anyone could walk into and see the things in person... no one had to order "blind".

Perhaps you are aware that historians are now including oral histories as major resources at least as valuable as written documents. I chair such a university program.

My point, however, was that all the catalogues we are discussing are from Lowland cities -- and many of the finest examples of Highland dress in our museums and private collections were made by indivuidual craftspeople in the Highland towns and townships. Even as recently as the early forties, travel from the Highlands to cities such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow was infrequent and chaallenging. To visit a shop selling mass-produced products considered inferior to those made nearby was thought of as a foolish waste of time and money. In those days Tain and Inverness, for example, had their own proofmarks to apply to one-off works of art. But no catalogues. We must not ignore them because they had no catalogues to send far-off potential customers; they were the major suppliers to Highlanders.

[creagdhubh]

Perhaps you are aware that historians are now including oral histories as major resources at least as valuable as written documents. I chair such a program.

My point, however, was that all the catalogues we are discussing are from Lowland cities -- and many of the finest examples of Highland dress in our museums and private collections were made by indivuidual craftspeople in the Highland towns and townships. Even as recently as the early forties, travel from the Highlands to cities such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow was infrequent and onerous. To visit a shop selling mass-produced products inferior to those made nearby was thought of as a foolish waste of time and money. In those days Tain and Inverness, for example, had their own proofmarks to apply to one-off works of art. But no catalogues.

***

The majority of my Highland dress wardrobe comes from Kinloch-Anderson (formerly called William Anderson & Sons) in Leith, Scotland. They still make fine products, though I wish they still made the wonderful sporrans, sgian dubhs, dirks, brogues, buckles, etc! I love the older styles!

Cheers,

[David Thorpe]

And two more hunting sporrans! (16 & 17)