Quality Sporrans for less money

[Father Bill]

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[imrichmond]

I was gobsmacked to walk into RG Hardie in Glasgow in 1986 and see an entire wall of seal sporrans. It hadn't dawned on me till then that seal was a common and inexpensive fur in Scotland. Someone told me that there were millions of seals teeming along the Scottish coast and they were more or less vermin.

In early 1983, while on sabbatical leave, I spent several months in Paris. I was surprised to see Parisian women carrying sealskin dress sporrans slung from their shoulder like shoulder bags. Judging by the number of women I saw with one, this was evidently a popular fashion item. I discovered that a good many women's fashion boutiques were marketing these sporrans as "bourses écossaises" (Scottish purses). The precursor to the EU, the EEC, banned the importation of the white-coat sealskins (the youngest harp seals, usually featured prominently in the anti-seal-hunt publicity) sometime during that year, but, as I recall all the sporrans I noticed in Paris featured the skins of more mature seals. I don't know how long this fashion fad endured, but I didn't see any "bourses écossaises" when I was next in Paris in the late 1980s.

[OC Richard]

I saw that here in the USA too!

After the US seal ban my old Pipe Major was amazed to see Scottish-made seal Evening Dress sporrans being sold at an ordinary Department Store.

About the white seal skins, what you say explains why back in the 1950s and 1950s Scottish makers like WE Scott were using artificial white fur but real grey seal.

I thought it was simply because artificial fur was a big fashion thing at that time.

[OC Richard]

Not something seen much nowadays- sort of a throwback- a square-top Evening Dress seal sporran.

Around $30 plus post, in the UK, no bids.

I'm almost certain it's by Manacraft, they do the rivetted D-rings and use that stamp.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37532835315...Bk9SR9ac6NHOYw

[Troglodyte]

Not something seen much nowadays- sort of a throwback- a square-top Evening Dress seal sporran.

Around $30 plus post, in the UK, no bids.

I'm almost certain it's by Manacraft, they do the rivetted D-rings and use that stamp.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37532835315...Bk9SR9ac6NHOYw

The seller lists the sporran as having been made by Ian Grant of Edinburgh who appears to be still operating, and you can just about make this out in the picture of the stamp impressed into the leather.

Maybe Ian Grant is the man behind Manacraft (that was), but he has a tempting array of unusual cantles trimming the sporrans he makes.

This is an attractive sporran anyhow, and could be a bargain for someone...

[OC Richard]

Yes it's a handsome sporran!

I've been collecting photos of the backs of sporrans and it's pretty easy to group them by maker by various telltale signs, like the shape of the leather back as a whole, the shape of the tab with the snap closure, the shape of the leather tab for the strap or adapter to go through, or in the case of Manacraft the rivetted D-rings.

Like WE Scott and Margaret Morrison, I'm come across Manacraft sporrans with various firms' names stamped on the back, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if Ian Grant had had Manacraft make their sporrans at one time or another.

Since Manacraft was "dissolved" in 2017 I wonder if someone is still making sporrans to the Manacraft pattern, perhaps using their tooling etc.

[OC Richard]

This lot is up again. Scottish Sporrans Job lot | eBay

Note that every photo only shows the back of one of the sporrans.

I messaged them the first time asking could they post a photo showing the front, they said they couldn't.

They claimed that their process was to snap the photos, then box up the items for shipping BEFORE listing the items on Ebay.

It sounds like the sort of excuse a scammer would come up with.

[OC Richard]

Well that lot of three sporrans, one with unknown front, is getting plenty of bids.

Here's a WE Scott evening sporran with the 1953 Patent stamp and scored back for $75.

I'm not sure but I think by sometime in the 1960s they stopped scoring the back and using the Patent stamp.

The cantle is an interesting variation on the common "knot & boss" theme.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/28579579809...Bk9SR4Kn2YzVYw

[OC Richard]

A bit higher than the prices usually seen here, but a very nice sporran by WE Scott Edinburgh.

It's got the 1953 Patent stamp and back, and is probably one of the earlier examples in that it still has the coin pouch on the back, I would say made in the 1950s.

The cantle is silverplate, or just possibly Sterling Silver, though I figure the seller would mention if it had hallmarks.

These cantles (when silverplate) generally have Made In Scotland in small letters stamped on one side.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/11613769012...Bk9SR8r-sP3XYw

And a later WE Scott sporran, style called EW1, which the seller does show the Made In Scotland cantle stamp.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/14571220007...Bk9SR8z-sP3XYw

[Troglodyte]

A simple but interesting 'vintage look' all-leather sporran has come up on eBay -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226092425297

And it could be a real bargain if the price stays as low as it is.