And it was never seen again ...

**Chas** · 27th March 13, 09:02 AM

Like many of you, I get the regular updates from the Scottish Register of Tartans. I received this one the other day.

Klymson (Chicago) (Personal)

The information held within The Scottish Register of Tartans for the "Klymson (Chicago) (Personal)" tartan is shown below.

Reference:	10801
Designer:	Klymson, J
Tartan date:	20/05/1980
Registration date:	26 March 2013
Category:	Name
Restrictions:	Yes. The Klymson Tartan can only be used by those who bear the Klymson surname and are descendants of James Klymson. It may only be woven or produced by request of the Klymson family.
Registration notes:	Created for the designer's family and his descendants, to be used for clothing and upholstery. The tartan was inspired by the designer's association with the 78th Fraser Highlanders as an active member of the Toronto York Garrison. Colours: orange is symbolic of the energy and happiness of curiosity and creativity that the family fosters; grey provides a stable, conservative foundation and background to the family.
Registrant details:	jmk@collectiveoffice.com

Leaving aside the limited pallet (4 colours) and the fact that it is asymmetrical, Mr James Klymson has almost insured that no one will ever wear this tartan. Firstly, you have to have the same surname, but also have to be one of his descendants. So his brother's children, or any other branch of his grandfather's family are not allowed to wear it. The way he has worded the restrictions means that he can't even wear it himself!

Will we ever see it again? I somehow doubt it.

Regards

Chas

**Father Bill** · 27th March 13, 09:18 AM

We do seem to get a lot of registered tartans these days that have little or no purpose and eventually disappear into the ether, now don't we!

**KD Burke** · 27th March 13, 09:41 AM

As a convicted perpetrator of tartanry myself, I can only throw myself upon the mercy of this assemblage and swear that I have had mine woven (and intend to do so again!).

**artificer** · 27th March 13, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Chas

Like many of you, I get the regular updates from the Scottish Register of Tartans. I received this one the other day.

Klymson (Chicago) (Personal)

Leaving aside the limited pallet (4 colours) and the fact that it is asymmetrical, Mr James Klymson has almost insured that no one will ever wear this tartan. Firstly, you have to have the same surname, but also have to be one of his descendants. So his brother's children, or any other branch of his grandfather's family are not allowed to wear it. The way he has worded the restrictions means that he can't even wear it himself!

Will we ever see it again? I somehow doubt it.

Regards

Chas

Maybe he's a prolific breeder- has 12+ children and is looking to outfit his family curling team.

Otherwise it does seem fairly restrictive even for a personal tartan.

I honestly wonder why most people bother to register their tartans. Are there that many 'tartan-thieves' out there scouring the web for designs to rip off?
Or is it just an attempt to obtain 'legitimacy' for an otherwise personal and private design?

ith:

**creagdhubh** · 27th March 13, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by artificer

Are there that many 'tartan-thieves' out there scouring the web for designs to rip off?
Or is it just an attempt to obtain 'legitimacy' for an otherwise personal and private design?

ith:

Hahahaha! Quite right, Scott. And in my opinion, I think this particular tartan is a bit garish in its colour choices. Again, this is my opinion.

**Tobus** · 27th March 13, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by artificer

I honestly wonder why most people bother to register their tartans. Are there that many 'tartan-thieves' out there scouring the web for designs to rip off?
Or is it just an attempt to obtain 'legitimacy' for an otherwise personal and private design?

I'd imagine he just wants it to remain his own personal family branch tartan, without any way for someone else to steal it and start wearing it just because they like the colours. If I were ever to design my own tartan for my family (which I have no intention of doing), I'd probably do the same. It may not be ultimate protection, but it's a simple way of keeping the tartan 'pure' and unique to the people it was intended for.

**artificer** · 27th March 13, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Tobus

I'd imagine he just wants it to remain his own personal family branch tartan, without any way for someone else to steal it and start wearing it just because they like the colours. If I were ever to design my own tartan for my family (which I have no intention of doing), I'd probably do the same. It may not be ultimate protection, but it's a simple way of keeping the tartan 'pure' and unique to the people it was intended for.

I guess my thought are that with the price of a custom weave, it seems fairly unlikely that someone would go the the expense to rip off someone's private design, ESPECIALLY if there was no online register of it- (ie, if your private tartan wasn't displayed online at all it would be nearly impossible for someone to just 'steal' the design and have it custom woven, even a tartan as simple as this one).

ith:

**faithwalker** · 27th March 13, 11:54 AM

Well he's got no worries from me...

**Tobus** · 27th March 13, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by artificer

I guess my thought are that with the price of a custom weave, it seems fairly unlikely that someone would go the the expense to rip off someone's private design, ESPECIALLY if there was no online register of it- (ie, if your private tartan wasn't displayed online at all it would be nearly impossible for someone to just 'steal' the design and have it custom woven, even a tartan as simple as this one).

Fair point. Which goes back to the "legitimacy" thing you mentioned. By registering it, it becomes more than just an informal family tradition and becomes something official that his descendants can point to.

Think of it like a pseudo heraldry system. Anybody can scratch out a crude drawing and call it his personal arms, but nobody will recognise it without Lord Lyon giving it the official approval (or other foreign heraldry authorities). Just like anybody can get a custom tartan woven, but it's not really officially yours unless you can register it with an authority who proclaims it to the world that they recognise it as being distinctly yours. This is probably what he's after. It's a fairly easy way to register it for posterity that this tartan belongs only to you and your descendants. The SRT doesn't hold the same weight as Lord Lyon, of course, but it's the same principle. Legitimacy. A public declaration that this is yours.