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  1. #1
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    HOS sporrans in the flesh part 3

    This sporran recently appeared on Ebay, and it has strong affinities with a style evidently once popular but which no longer exists, which is repeatedly seen in The Highlanders Of Scotland.

    The thing is that they have a metal rim around both the top and bottom of the cantle, not just around the top edge as is usual.



    Here's one I posted earlier that's also of this general type



    Here are similar ones in HOS







    Another popular style in the 19th century was having a pentagonal cantle. This lovely example that looks like it was ripped out of the pages of HOS was up on Ebay a while back











    It was my intention to have a number of HOS sporrans with extant examples, a gallery more or less, but due to this site shutting down threads my one gallery is scattered across three threads, and unnecessary redundancy.

    Here's the original thread

    http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...s-flesh-83376/

    and the 2nd one

    http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...reprise-90090/
    Last edited by OC Richard; 4th August 16 at 05:13 AM.
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

  2. #2
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    I never thought to see a full face sporran (badger or other animal) with a cantle (like the one you have posted). I did several double-takes. I'd like to have a moment inside the designer's thoughts. I may learn that I'm okay after the experience.

  3. #3
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    I noticed that too! Stopped and scroolllllled back up for a long look....
    "We are all connected...to each other, biologically; to the earth, chemically; to the universe, atomically...and that makes me smile." - Neil deGrasse Tyson

  4. #4
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    Yep that would be my dream sporran, I think.

    It's do-able, probably. Pick up a vintage pentagonal cantle, give it to a sporranmaker who does badger mask sporrans, and Bob's your Uncle.
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

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  6. #5
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    I don't know....... To me at least it kind of looks like the poor badger got run over....... YMMV

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  8. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Todd Bradshaw View Post
    I don't know....... To me at least it kind of looks like the poor badger got run over....... YMMV
    Or that he's trying to escape the sporran! Imagine: an angry badger, tearing up the general area. Whew! Serves one right for putting it in there in the first place.

    JMB

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  10. #7
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    Those are some very handsome sporrans! I always associated the wearing of hair sporrans and being part of the military or a pipe band, so I'd be worried about sending the "wrong message" by wearing them. By that I just mean it wouldn't be a proper thing to do, like wearing a uniform that you don't or didn't serve in. I could just be looking way to deep into this. How common is it for civilians to wear them?

  11. #8
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    I have seen people who have no affiliation to the military or a pipe band wearing hair sporrans quite tastefully over the years. There is absolutely no reason why someone can't wear one if they desire to do so. When it comes to wearing an army sporran with the regimental badge on it, that can cross into a gray area. When badged it is attributed to a unit and only those who serve/served in it have earned the right to wear it. It is like a civi wearing a USMC EGA and never spent a day in the corps. Take the badge off and replace it with a non military emblem and it becomes just another sporran. Hair sporrans are all individual choice and pipe bands/military don't have exclusive rights to wear them. If it looks good, wear it.....

  12. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Septim View Post
    I always associated the wearing of hair sporrans and being part of the military or a pipe band... How common is it for civilians to wear them?
    That's where one gets into the distinction between "traditional Highland dress" and "historical Highland dress".

    The long-hair sporran evolved in the early years of the 19th century from the short-hair sporran of the late 18th century, in the natural course of things. Throughout the 19th century hair sporrans were by far the most common sort of sporran for all modes of Highland dress: civilian Evening Dress, civilian Day Dress, and in the army.

    So if it were 1850 or 1880 you would wear a long hair sporran, whether with a tweed jacket, or formal Evening jacket, or on campaign with the army. They were the only sort of sporrans around, unless you were wearing a historical 18th century leather sporran. There were a few short-fur sporrans to be seen, usually with an animal mask.

    But in the early years of the 20th century an entire suite of new sporran styles came in, small and pocket-shaped, in leather for Day and sealskin for Evening. The army continued wearing the long hair sporrans, as they do to this day.

    So in 1920 or 1970 or 2015 the wearing of long hair sporrans in any sort of civilian dress wouldn't be traditional, because around 1900 the tradition changed. Traditions evolve, it's what they do.

    I break with tradition by often wearing a longish goat-hair sporran of the sort popular in around the 1890-1910 period.

    Typical civilian Day Dress in the 2nd half of the 19th century



    This shows an array of civilian Highland Dress of the period. None of the men are in military-style dress, note the open collars and lapels on the doublets. (Strange how a photo of a child has been superimposed, I've seen that on other vintage photos.)



    1907, small pocketlike sporrans have taken over



    The Highland Dress of the early 20th century continued to be worn, and really hasn't changed much over the years to this day

    Last edited by OC Richard; 22nd October 16 at 06:11 AM.
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

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  14. #10
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    Thank you so much for the reply Richard, that was extremely informative! Plus the old photos were really nice. I love seeing older examples of highland civilian dress.

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