The Scottish Tartans

[Mikilt]

As a birthday gift, I received this book called The Scottish Tartans. It was published by Rentons, Princes Street, Edinburgh. I am looking forward to researching this book and finding out more about Rentons. There are also references to Bell-Tree, which I believe is in Rothesay. I cannot speak to the veracity of the book, but I think it's very nice to own.

A few pictures:

[Richrail]

Very nice, enjoy.

[Sample m]

Mighty fine book. Great b day gift. And happy b day

[OC Richard]

I have that book! It's wonderful. I found it in a used book shop years ago.

The illustrations are great, but tend to show a fantasy quasi-historical Highland Dress which oftentimes mixes various centuries such as 17th-century slashed doublets worn with high Victorian sporrans etc.

However some of the illustrations show the then-current fashion in Highland Dress. For example look at Crawford, Hay, MacBean, MacNaughton; they're wearing lovely check tweed jackets, contrasting waistcoats, spats, and the long hair sporrans which at that time were still acceptable for Day Dress. Also to be seen is the then-new look with smaller sporrans; see Macduff, MacEwan, MacGillivray, MacKenzie, and possibly MacLennan (his sporran isn't visible).

Most are wearing the look then going out of fashion, the ornate trimmed doublets worn with long hair sporrans, waistbelt, crossbelt, weapons, etc. By around 1920 this older dress was virtually extinct, having been replaced by the simpler, sleeker new look.

Erskine is wearing the Evening Dress of the period, with long hair sporran, white tie, and white waistcoat, with what appears to be an early version of the Prince Charlie coatee.

[Tarheel]

Great gift Mikilt. What is the date of the copyright? It is good to notice that they had the smoke-room separate from the fabrics. Stinking wool is hard to sell.

[OC Richard]

What is the date of the copyright?

As with most of these vintage books there is no copyright date. One must imply an approximate date from the style of dress shown and so forth. The dress indicates, to me, a date of around 1900-1910.

Here is one of the illustrations which appears to show the then-current Day Dress



and a photograph showing more or less the same thing



Here's the ornate costume seen in most of the illustrations in that book, with trimmed doublet, belts, and weapons

[Stitchwiz]

Great gift Mikilt. What is the date of the copyright? It is good to notice that they had the smoke-room separate from the fabrics. Stinking wool is hard to sell.

Emboldening added

If you want to get rid of a nasty smell, your best friend is Vinegar!

Put out a couple of dishes with ½-1" of vinegar, and leave in the room overnight and...Voilá! No more smell.
If you have a bolt of fabric that smells, unroll it from the cardboard (you don't need to unfold it) and drape it over a table or a few chairs. You need the air to get around it. Stand the cardboard on edge nearby. Set a few dishes of vinegar close by. Leave over night and give it the sniff test in the morning. If the smell is really bad and you can still smell it, dump the vinegar, and refill the bowls. You may consider putting out a few more bowls if it is really strong. Leave it overnight again. Everything should be sweet in a day or two.

For most of my life, our homes were heated with wood stoves. The smell of wood smoke is wonderful - outside! - but not in our home or on our clothing. I put a dish of vinegar near the heating source and kept it full of vinegar. We never had a smoke smell in our home.

Best of all, it is cheap! You never have to spend a fortune on room deodorizers again! Now adding fragrance into a room...that is more costly...

[Jim Simmons]

Congratulations on receiving such a fine gift. And belated Happy Birthday wishes!

[Mikilt]

@OC Richard, you are correct. There is no publication date. However, there is an inscription! I want to believe it's actually signed by a Donald W(?) Rentons, Bell-Tree, Rothesay and is dated 1939. Does anyone else see something different?

[OC Richard]

Wow 1939 is much later than the styles seen in the illustrations would indicate.

I know that with many Scottish publications I've seen, such as pipe music books, they stay in print for decades or even a century, oftentimes with no updating.

By 1939 even the most recent styles of dress shown would have been out of date by 30 years or more.

My earliest Highland Dress catalogue, from the 1920s, shows fully modern Highland Dress.