Quote Originally Posted by creagdhubh View Post
For me, a bit (approximately the size of a moderns day swatch of tartan) of old tartan known amongst the Clan Macpherson as the Macpherson Crubin plaid, is a very important sett - both historically and aesthetically. It is said that a piece of this particular tartan was found inside an old wooden trunk by a Macpherson woman assisting in the clearing out of black house located in Crubin, Inverness-shire (in lower Badenoch near Dalwhinnie), during the mid to late 18th-century, and at that time, it was obvious to her that the piece of tartan was already quite old.

I am unsure if an actual photograph of the Macpherson Crubin plaid exisits somewhere, or whether or not the actual bit of hard tartan, found so many years ago, has survived to this day. The Macpherson Crubin plaid is not a part of the permanent collection at the Clan Macpherson Museum and House in Newtonmore, Inverness-shire, and Clan Macpherson historians are unsure what happened to the bit of tartan, and furthermore, have drawn no conclusions. What we do know, is that the only shroud of evidence that the Macpherson Crubin plaid ever existed, is through simple, written and spoken word amongst the Clan Macpherson throughout the generations. Perhaps that is all one really needs.
Oh it does exist - look!



However, notwithstanding the label, nor the claims elsewhere, this is not an early C18th piece but rather a piece of Wilsons' cloth 1790-c1800 and is listed in their 1819 Key Pattern Book as MacKintosh. The label's reference to King George IV wearing this is also incorrect and both are examples of family traditions being attached to artefacts, portraits etc which are later taken as 'fact'.

This sample is in the West Highland Museum at Fort William and I have no doubt that it is the piece that later authors, DC Stewart and James Scarlett cite as the Crubin Plaid. DC Stewart apparently examined it in 1947 but clearly missed the fact that there are both wool and silk yellow stripes in the specimen, something never found in truly old pieces but often seen in early Wilson setts and in this case actually specified in their 1819.

So, I'm afraid that whilst it may be a very attractive old tartan, it does not meet the criterion of the OP.