Quality Sporrans for less money

**OC Richard** · 30th July 23, 04:18 PM

Sometimes you can tell much more from seeing the back of a sporran than the front.

This looks like a quality UK-made cantle, and possibly a WE Scott sporran.

The seller says it's UK-made but we aren't shown the back so who can say.

$40 Buy It Now, what could go wrong...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leather-Spo...p2056016.l4276

**ThistleDown** · 30th July 23, 05:03 PM

To my mind this is an 'I can't make up my mind' sporran. Somewhere in the midst of the relaxed purposeful leather-work, working sporran and that of formal evening wear. It seems (again, to my traditional eyes) as capturing well the every-day use but taking in the bling and stiffness that makes it it somehow formal. I know that seems to be a trend -- a blend to serve all purposes -- but traditionally we don't seem to have that, except as developed and sold by Highland outfitters in the (late?) 20th century and now today.

Other than for military and band attire, when did we begin to accept brass, silver, German silver, pewter, etc. for cantles? I have a few examples of these, acquired over the generations, but I am wondering, today, how those evolved.

OCR? From your collection of catalogues -- and your own study of transition -- can you advise us?

**figheadair** · 31st July 23, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by ThistleDown

To my mind this is an 'I can't make up my mind' sporran. Somewhere in the midst of the relaxed purposeful leather-work, working sporran and that of formal evening wear. It seems (again, to my traditional eyes) as capturing well the every-day use but taking in the bling and stiffness that makes it it somehow formal. I know that seems to be a trend -- a blend to serve all purposes -- but traditionally we don't seem to have that, except as developed and sold by Highland outfitters in the (late?) 20th century and now today.

Other than for military and band attire, when did we begin to accept brass, silver, German silver, pewter, etc. for cantles? I have a few examples of these, acquired over the generations, but I am wondering, today, how those evolved.

OCR? From your collection of catalogues -- and your own study of transition -- can you advise us?

OCR will I'm sure comment in detail but there are demonstrable examples of the civilian use of brass cantles in the 18th (possibly late 17th) century as this selection shows.

C18th sporrans.jpg

Silver cantles were very much a feature of the 19th century. Initially as Highland Revival sporran, then by the Victorians and finally, we saw a few during the Celtic Revival era.
In order: c.1822; 1883; and 1896.

19th century silver cantle sporrans.jpg

German silver (Nickle Silver) cantles came in in the last quarter of the 19th century.

**OC Richard** · 31st July 23, 04:52 AM

Originally Posted by ThistleDown

To my mind this is an 'I can't make up my mind' sporran, somewhere in the midst of the relaxed purposeful working sporran and that of formal evening wear.

I know that seems to be a trend -- a blend to serve all purposes -- but traditionally we don't seem to have that, except as developed and sold by Highland outfitters in the (late?) 20th century and now today.

Yes exactly. Photos and catalogues through the 1960s show traditional brown Day sporrans, but then in the 1970s these neither fish-nor-fowl "semi-dress" sporrans begin appearing.

The transition can be seen in a 1983 Edinburgh catalogue which shows 12 "daywear" sporrans, all brown, with a footnote "numbers 27 through 35 can be supplied in black leather for day/evening wear, see price list note for extra cost". (I suppose the term "semi-dress" hadn't been coined yet.)

I ascribe it to the rise of the Kilt Hire Industry, who needed sporrans cheaper than proper sealskin Evening sporrans to hire with their ubiquitous black Prince Charlies and Argylls.

Here are three Kilt Hire "semi dress" sporrans (right column) with the traditional Day sporran they started as (left column).

The centre column shows the traditional Evening sporrans that various bits were appropriated from.

The black leather Hunting sporran with chrome Evening top (bottom right) became enormously popular with Pipe Bands the world over beginning around 1990. At a Pipe Band contest you could see 20 consecutive bands wearing them. The reasons are probably cost, bling, and there being no tassels to fall off.

On the other hand it's certainly the case that that style does echo somewhat the "revival" brown leather Hunting sporrans of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with either silver or brass tops.

**OC Richard** · 15th August 23, 02:54 AM

Opening bid $20, no bids yet, for a Thomas Dunlop sporran.

The rabbit fur has an aftermarkety look to it, though the possibility exists that the rabbit is orginal.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/22572748746...%7C1750%7C3000

**OC Richard** · 16th August 23, 03:08 AM

Not my cup of tea, but a modern white pony or bovine Evening sporran with black leather targe.

It has the Made In Scotland Real Leather oval gold stamp.

With shipping $35.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/36425859126...%7C1750%7C3000

**OC Richard** · 18th August 23, 02:41 AM

This one isn't marked, and I'm sure it's Pakistani.

Why? The main things are the metal bells on the tassels. I've seen a huge number of Pakistani tassel-bells with that distinctive shape with flattish sides, but as best I recall the UK-made ones I've seen have been spherical.

The other thing is that cantle. Though it most probably has a Scottish origin, at some point being re-cast in Sialkot, nowadays it's the hallmark of Pakistani sporrans. BTW they make those in Pakistan in two sizes, one the standard 6 inch width, the other slightly smaller. How that happened, who can say.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/32577731468...tion=10%7C3000

**OC Richard** · 20th August 23, 01:34 AM

Another patently Pakistani sporran, the seller wanting over $100, for a sporran that costs around $25 new!

Here the giveaways are the slab-sided bells and the huge ugly flanking bosses on the cantle.

Where the Sialkot makers came up with those who can say, but AFAIK they never appear on non-Pakistani cantles.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27600627620...%7C1750%7C3000

Here's the Pakistani sporran (left) and a Scottish-made EW3 sporran.

Note the differences in bells, flanking bosses on the cantle, and knob.

Note that both sporrans have the central disc and flanking knotwork bosses as separate screwed-on pieces.

The Pakistani cantle itself is a decent re-cast; they only need to put better hardware on it.

Note that the Scottish-made sporran has an ill-fitting gasket/liner. I would expect better.

**stickman** · 20th August 23, 07:21 AM

OC, Good morning, Have you seen the waste of wood. GREAT HIGHLAND BAGPIPE, AFRICAN WOOD With ENGRAVED MOUNTS? By HOUSE of HIGHLAND. ONLY $699.49

**OC Richard** · 23rd August 23, 04:35 AM

Nice classic brown leather Day sporran stamped Kinloch Anderson, no bids, starting bid $25.

The post to the USA is excessive, I'm sure that for somebody in the UK it would be far less, making this sporran a great bargain.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20443659459...%7C1750%7C3000