Vintage sporran exhibition

[Troglodyte]

The bulk of the sporran exhibition is essentially military, and refelcts more than 200 years of the various regements' history in sporran terms - which is fascinating enough in itself.

But part of the collection includes sporrans from other bodies, too, not just British regiments of the line - so original Balmoral Highlanders, Athole Highlanders, Lonach and Invercauld are also there to be seen in their full glory. Such as these -



It is not just military sporrans that will be on display, as examples from other private collections are also being shown. These include early 18th century hinged-cantle styles (what people like to call 'Jacobite-era' sporrans from pre-Dress Act times) and early 19th century hair sporrans from around the Highland Revival period. Georgian and Victorian, in other words. Some of the examples are exqisite in their quality and perhaps surprising in their construction, too.

Personally, it is a great treat to have the opportunity to study in detail the early sporrans, and see the internal workings of the cantle locking mechanisms, two-handed release methods, and the carefully constructed internal divisions and pockets in sporrans that are fairly plain and ordinary on the outside.

The MoD hinged brass cantle sporrans that we all love so much, seem poor substitutes for the look-alike originals - so much so that I feel inclined to take apart my own MoD cantle sporrans and re-make them in the way our Georgian forebears would approve!

In terms of publications and images available online or in print, that is still to be finalised, but Scottish Television has already shown an interest, along with other media. More on this in due course...