Quality Sporrans for less money

[OC Richard]

A UK seller has put up some Nicoll Bros Bankfoot sporrans currently going for under $40 each.

Looks like the seller took his photos at night in a fog with a 1970 Polaroid camera.

They are all, perhaps, rabbit fur but given the low quality of the photos who can say.

First a white Evening Dress sporran. I have a Nicoll Bros sporran with this same cantle, which I really like. You can see the Nicoll Bros Bankfoot stamp.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SCOTTISH-SP...gAAOSwJHFZ47pa

Second is an Evening Dress sporran in the colour called "brown" in Britain but for us in the USA it might be described as "gray" or perhaps "taupe". It too has the Nicoll Bros Bankfoot stamp visible.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SCOTTISH-SP....c100005.m1851

Last is a black Evening Dress sporran with white tassels and the "G" cantle, which I expect to be a high quality silver-plated cantle. This style of sporran became very popular with pipe bands around here around 20 years ago, and it looks great with a variety of tartans. I don't see a maker's stamp in the photo of the back, so we have to take the seller's word that it's a Nicoll Bros sporran.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SCOTTISH-SP....c100005.m1851

Last but not least a leather & sealskin sporran with a stamp I've not seen before Stewart Christie & Co. Edinburgh. It also has the typical Made In Scotland Real Leather oval gold stamp. A very low Buy It Now, a fantastic sporran for a non-USA buyer.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stewart-Chr...4AAOSwO7hZ6QW5

Here's a closeup of the reverse showing the two stamps



I assume this is the same firm

https://www.stewartchristie.com/

Nowadays they only offer two sporrans, both quite plain, made by "MacKenzie Leathers".

https://www.stewartchristie.com/store/-c21613069

The sporran on Ebay, however, is a standard "canon" sporran and might have been made by W Scott & Son or any of a number of Scottish sporranmakers of the c1930-c1970 period.