Quality Sporrans for less money

[OC Richard]

I also think MM picked up Nicoll Bros MOD work - I have seen a posts on MM's facebook page about some of their recent supplies to the military.

References to MM and Nicol Bros are made here: https://www.artisansofscotland.com/a...ison-sporrans/ and here: https://morrison-sporrans.co.uk/about-us/ - although I agree it would be nice to see some of of the old Nicoll Bros designs brought back into production. That said MM do have an extensive catalogue so there may be some lurking about.

Thanks for the links, they say MM "took over" from Nicoll Bros, quite interesting. I know in pipemaking it's common for one firm to take over an old firm that's winding up, the main thing being acquiring all the tools, which are a daunting expense for a new maker.

However I'm not sure that MM directly took over Nicoll Bros, because there apparently was an in-between firm, Piob Mhor, Blairgowrie.

EDIT: Piob Mhor was started by Australian kiltmaker Ruthven Milne in 1974. They acquired Nicoll Brothers in 1983. Nicoll Brothers were acquired by Margaret Morrison in 2007.

In the early 2000s I bought a Nicoll Bros sporran from Piob Mhor in Blairgowrie. My understanding at the time was that Piob Mhor had bought out Nicoll Bros. My sporran was stamped Nicoll Bros Scotland but I've also seen sporrans stamped Piob Mhor.

I still have a printout of the Nicoll Bros online catalogue from around 2004. Their sporrans were distinctive in a number of ways, for example their sporrans had different body proportions, and they used a different line of cantles, from W Scott Edinburgh and most of the other makers. Their cantles were stamped Nicoll Bros Scotland in tiny letters on one side during the Piob Mhor period.