of Hunting sporrans

[OC Richard]

About where Hunting sporrans came from, the more I look at existing old sporrans and old photos of men wearing them the more I think that the modern "day" and "evening" sporrans (which arose around the time of The Great War) are possibly both descended from the ornate Celtic Revival quasi-18th century sporrans of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods.

Here's the style. Things that strike me are 1) that only a small number of these show up 2) they tend to be similar to each other and 3) when made they seem to have been the provenance of the wealthy: Royalty, aristocracy, and others of exceptional wealth such as Sir Harry Lauder. Long after they were made some have continued to be worn in those families, some have ended up with persons such as famous piper John Burgess, well known for his lavish spending on ornate costumes.



Here are closeups of some sporrans of that style. Note Sir Harry's has a square top, while other examples have semicircular tops.



Also evidently inspired by 18th century sporrans are this sort, also late Victorian/Edwardian, which I believe evolved into the standard Evening sporrans of the 1920s which we still wear today.



Not a tremendous leap from those to the standard Evening sporrans, simplified for those of more ordinary means, being produced in larger quantities in the 1930s



About Hunting sporrans, I think the ones being made in quantity for the average kilt-wearer (below right, 1930s) are more or less highly simplified versions of the ornate Revival ones at top.

Note the early appearance of the Rob Roy, another 18th century revival. Also seen are the animal mask sporrans, which throughout the Victorian period were pretty much the only Outdoor Dress alternative to the near-ubiquitous long hair sporrans.



Note that in the post-Great War period pocketlike sporrans complete with flaps become popular. This style came to dominate leather "Day" sporrans but also appeared in Evening form in the so-called "Prince Charlie" seal sporran, seen above.

I think the appearance of the pocket-style sporrans might be connected to the military's adoption of a khaki-drab Service Dress in 1908.