Wearing of tartan coats by 42nd Regt Pipers?

[figheadair]

Yes I had long been aware of the Government tartan jackets of the Black Watch pipers, and the full Rob Roy outfits. Interesting how when you start looking for hard evidence, though, how little is to be found.

Richard, I was wondering when you would join in and add your knowledge. As you suggest, lots of snippets and references but it's only when one starts to look for the evidence that things get tricky.

What I would like to know more about is the relationship, if any, between the Black Watch pipers wearing Royal Stewart tartan, and early Black Watch musicians wearing the "music tartan".

At some early point did Black Watch pipers wear the music tartan, or did they always wear Royal Stewart? If the pipers did wear the same tartan as the other musicians, at what point was it switched to Royal Stewart?

Stewart of Garth stated that the 42nd pipers wore a red tartan from the formation of the regiment; he assumed that that was the Royal Stewart. Logan said that they wore the tartan later adopted by the Band. In each case there is absolutely no evidence to support these claims. I can trace the Band tartan to 1780 and feel that it was probably a Wilsons' sett.

The pipers seem to have worn a variety of tartans in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, possibly including the Band sett. They were granted permission to wear the Royal Stewart by Queen Victoria in 1865 after which they only ever wore that and the Band tartan fell out of use entirely. My paper is nearly finished and discusses this and the use by the 93rd too.

[blackwatch70]

quite crude picture, and I dont' know where it was published, but it stated BW in 1845 ...

[figheadair]

quite crude picture, and I dont' know where it was published, but it stated BW in 1845 ...

A good find. I'll have a dig but think it may be from Wheatley's Regimental history published 1837.

[figheadair]

A good find. I'll have a dig but think it may be from Wheatley's Regimental history published 1837.

This one is proving tricky. Where did you find the image?

[blackwatch70]

This one is proving tricky. Where did you find the image?

I found it on one of forums , and they say it's from "Historical records of the Forty Second or Royal Highland Regiment of Foot" 1st ed London 1845.

regards, Mikhail

[figheadair]

I found it on one of forums , and they say it's from "Historical records of the Forty Second or Royal Highland Regiment of Foot" 1st ed London 1845.

regards, Mikhail

Thank you. Surprised that the Black Watch weren't aware but just goes to show that every day is a learning day.

[blackwatch70]

Thank you. Surprised that the Black Watch weren't aware but just goes to show that every day is a learning day.

no problem.
by the way this book is easy available on web in digital form, but I was able to find black and white image only...

http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100281371


regards, Mikhail

[IsaacW]

quite crude picture, and I dont' know where it was published, but it stated BW in 1845 ...

Do you suppose this is supposed to represent typical 42nd sett for the jacket and band sett for the kilt??

[figheadair]

Yes I do Issac. I had nearly finished a paper on the Band Sett until this appeared. It doesn't change anything per se but it reinforces the late use by pipers of the 42nd. Interestingly the Black Watch Museum hadn't seen this and we're all scratching our heads to try and find the source book.

I'm trying to track down a copy of Wheatley's 1837 Regimental history to see if it's from there. Not an easy book to find.

[blackwatch70]

Hi figheadair,

did you read the "The origins and Development of Military tartans" by James Scarlett , what do you think about it?
and when will you publish your latest paper about Band sett?

regards, Mikhail