day sporrans with fur fronts

[OC Richard]

Far from being a recent development, day sporrans with fur fronts have been around, it seems, as long as day sporrans themselves.

Our familiar "day" and "evening" sporrans, small pocketlike pouches, suddenly appeared around 1900. Why and how, no one seems to know.

Throughout the 19th century long hair sporrans, which had evolved linearly from the sporrans of the 18th century, were worn in all modes of Highland Dress (military, civilian day, and civilian evening).

Anyhow the small sporrans appeared, with a clear dichotomy between 'day' and 'evening', and 'day' sporrans often had fur fronts. These were not "semi-dress". No such concept seems to have existed.

Here they are in the 1930s. As you can see the fur-front sporrans are just as much 'day' sporrans as the ones without fur. You can also see Hunting sporrans, which were made entirely out of soft leather, without metal cantle.



Here are the 'evening' sporrans