The asnwer to the question about the Hunting Robertson tartan is found in my article, "The Sources of the Tartans."
But in case anyone doesn't want to read the whole thing, here it is:
The first attempt by anyone to record all the "clan tartans" was undertaken by the Highland Society of London in 1815. They wrote to all the clan cheifs and asked them to submit a sample of their clan tartan for the collection. Most of the cheifs had no idea that they were even supposed to have a tartan, let alone know what it was.
Many handled the issue by simply writing to the tartan manufacurers and asking for a sample of "their" tartan. (There is an interesting story about the MacPherson tartan in my article, if anyone is interested). Other cheifs went about the region asking all the elders of the clan if they knew what "their" tartan was.
The cheif of the Robertsons did this. He went all about Atholl asking all the old men if they knew what the clan tartan was. Several did claim to know, but they all thought the tartan was something different. The tartan that the cheif ultimately decided on, and submitted to the Highland Society of London, was the tartan worn by the Loyal Clan Donnachie Volunteers, a kind of "home guard" raised in 1803. Like most military tartans, it was created from the Black Watch, by adding different colored stripes. And there you have it.
There are a lot of tartans that have been created from the Black Watch. To name just a few: Gordon, MacKenzie, Forbes, Lamont, Scottish National, MacLachlan, MacNab, Tyneside, etc.
Another bit of trivia: We mentioned already that Black Watch is also called Campbell, Hunting Grant, and Hunting Munroe. I forgot to mention that it is also the same as the Sutherland District tartan. So add yet another name to the list!
Aye,
Matt
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