Another eBay gem

[figheadair]

Picked this up this after noon .



105" x 23 1/2" and described as A wonderfully vibrant tartan shawl, dating to the mid 19th century



The sett is MacNab per Wilsons' setting. I suspect that it dates to c1820-40.

[cessna152towser]

Superb. You have a keen eye for a genuine antique.

[OC Richard]

How cool! It shows what a great source Ebay can be, for the person with the truly expert eye.

[Domehead]

Mr. MacDonald,
Understand, I am not questioning your expertise. I am soliciting clarification. Given publication chronology (1831-1850+); the facile nature of early C19th Tartanology; Motivational differences from Logan through the Smith's and Smibert, can we know how he obtained or why James Logan indexed this "Black Watch" setting when he is "documented" to have been provided the Scarlett & Rose (Crimson) chequey by Wilson's?

Ryan

[figheadair]

Mr. MacDonald,
Understand, I am not questioning your expertise. I am soliciting clarification. Given publication chronology (1831-1850+); the facile nature of early C19th Tartanology; Motivational differences from Logan through the Smith's and Smibert, can we know how he obtained or why James Logan indexed this "Black Watch" setting when he is "documented" to have been provided the Scarlett & Rose (Crimson) chequey by Wilson's?

Ryan

Ryan, I not sure I fully understand your question (bold above)?

[Domehead]

My fault.
Mr. Scarlett's research, as well as your very confirmation (per the KPB, among other things) clearly stipulates Logan was provided the Scarlett & Rose "chequey" sett as MacNab...that from the R.R. McIan hose.

Also, it is well established the publishing chronology and influence Logan's tabulature had on virtually every subsequent tartanological volume - particularly those of Smibert and the Smith Bros., 1850 (the Smith's purportedly taking aim at the Hay-Allan Stuarts). Not to mention the effect the HSL had on Logan - a student in London at the time of their collection and their Secretary after publication of The 'Gael.

What I am interested in is:
One could consider the above context, including the fact that James Logan was provided the "chequey" MacNab. Why, or is it even possible to know why, did he index the "Black Watch" recolour MacNab?

Ryan

[figheadair]

Ryan, it I understand you correctly, you're asking why Logan used the 42nd MacNab setting in his Scottish Gael but the simpler check for the hose in his collaboration with McIan? Assuming that to be the case, then I think the simple answer is that Wilsons wove both settings at the time, however the 42nd setting was gaining popularity and the check sett was fast being superseded. Here's a brief chronology:

c1800 - Raeburn's portrait of The MacNab in which he wears the check sett. This was almost certainly a Wilsons' design.

1816 - The HSL Collection includes a sample of the MacNab 42nd setting - Wilsons' cloth.

1819 - Wilsons' KPB includes counts for the check sett which they describe as the real
Clan MacNab Tartan and a count for No199 or McNab of which they say it was about 20 years old (c1800).

1831 - The Scottish Gael gives a count for the 42nd setting.

1842 - VS has an invented tartan based on the 42nd setting colours.

1845 - McIan's work gives both the check (old) and 42nd setts in the figure's hose and plaid respectively.

1850- Smibert and the Smiths show the old sett.

The old (real) MacNab seems to have gone out of favour at some time after 1850 until revived about a century later when it was sometimes referred to as the chief's sett.

Does that answer your question?

[Domehead]

Presuming you meant to type why in place of what (...,you're asking why Logan used the 42nd MacNab setting in his Scottish Gael but...) then, yes, it does.
And yes, that is exactly the chronology I was referring to. It raises what I feel are the best questions, Why?

1. The Raeburn Portrait clearly depicts the check sett, unequivocally Wilson's. Yet, the HSL sample is the 42nd sett. Why? This is a similar conundrum to the Wilson's No 43-Kidd-Caledonia-MacPherson sett when Wilson's Cluny MacPherson was already named and commercially viable.

2. William & Andrew Smith produced the VS plates using their Mauchline Wear technique, while the Stuart's MacNab sett bore no resemblance to either Wilson's sett save for pallet. It is noted that The Smith Bros. were preparing their volume before publication of the VS let out and specifically titled it "The Authenticated...". The Smith's chose the check sett in their book. Why?

3. The McIan print includes the check sett and the 42nd sett. Why? Perhaps an homage to Wilson's provision. However, more interesting to me is...

3a. The MacDonald sett depicted in McIan's hosiery gained a life. The Red & Green MacDonald was included in Smiths, 1850 then immortalized in MacLeay's Highlanders, 1873 then challenged By D.W. Stewart in 1893. And, of course, there is the MacDonald Boys portrait, c1750 which started it all. Yet, it took a century for the MacNab check sett to regain footing. Why?

I'm not asking you to answer these questions. These are just the queries swimming 'round my head. Most likely, as you've said, the answer to all of them is the whim of the marketplace, however unappealing or unsatisfying such accuracy may be.

Thanks again.
Ryan M. Liddell

[figheadair]

Typo correct - thank you.


I'm not asking you to answer these questions. These are just the queries swimming 'round my head. Most likely, as you've said, the answer to all of them is the whim of the marketplace, however unappealing or unsatisfying such accuracy may be.

In a nutshell, that's it. Fashion is a fickle master and there was no loyalty to a particular sett at a time that tartan was only beginning to become codified.

[Domehead]

Mr. MacDonald,
Thank you very much for the conversation and the education. It helps me quite a bit and I realize, first hand, the time it takes.

Ryan M. Liddell