Quote Originally Posted by figheadair View Post
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..
Yes, I've heard about the rush for chiefs to get a clan tartan, particularly before King George IV's big visit to Scotland in 1822. Sort of like a gold rush, but with tartan—everybody racing to stake their claim. It is ironic that a majority of chiefs didn't know what their clan tartan was and had to ask the weavers, but amazing how powerful the idea was and how strongly people have held on to it.

It is very cool to find out that the HSL MacQuarrie sample came from a rural, Highland source. I wear the more common MacQuarrie, but now I've got a serious hankering for the Jacobite era version! Matt Newsome has a MacQuarrie kilt in the Cockburn sett, which appears to be quite similar to the HSL sample, but not quite the same.

My MacQuarrie modern:



Matt's Cockburn collection MacQuarrie: