Jacobite era tartans still in use today

[figheadair]

That's some deep tartan knowledge. After looking up those sources it appears that in the early 1800s, the Highland Society of London (of which Cockburn was a member), actually went to the clan chiefs and asked what their tartan was. The last chief of the Clan MacQuarrie died in 1818 and, the chiefdom having been vacant for nearly 200 years, this is an important historical point for clansmen. The most commonly seen MacQuarrie tartan is actually quite different from the one authorized by the last chief.

Gen. David Stewart of Garth was the driver to gather the Society's tartan collection. He was taken by the idea of clan tartans even though he and the majority of chiefs had no idea of what they wore in the 18th century. As a result, many chiefs went to Wilsons to ask them what they should be wearing. Wilsons' comments on a number of tartans supports the recent adoption of tartans by particular clans. The MacQuarrie sample is one of a very small number that were gathered in the Highlands rather than supplied by a commercial weaving firm..