[MR] Historic tartan books online

[Garth Groff]

Noble friends, especially fellow Scots,

The Scottish Tartans Museum has recently posted full-color scans of 
several historical books featuring tartan patterns ( 
http://resources.scottishtartans.org/ ). These show clan tartans (in 
some cases spurious), and as such are beyond our period. However, some 
of the tartans themselves are much, much older, and could have been worn 
by anyone, since there were no "clan tartans" before the 18th century. 
Tartan was worn by many hightlanders as an upper body wrap long before 
they began wrapping it around their waists in the late 1500s. I happened 
to notice Lennox in one book, a particular tartan which was depicted in 
a portrait of 1580. Some of the tartans depicted are no longer in use, 
having been replaced by more modern setts, and information on them is 
very hard to find.

The books currently offered are the VESTIARIUM SCOTICUM (1842, a notable 
fraud by the Sobieski Stuarts); CLANS OF THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND 
(1850); AUTHENTICATED TARTANS OF THE CLANS AND FAMILIES OF SCOTLAND 
(1850); PATTERNS OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS (mid-19th century); and OLD & 
RARE SCOTTISH TARTANS (1893).

The museum has other pages which can be of help creating a Scottish 
persona. On the main page ( http://www.scottishtartans.org/gallery.html 
) there are discussion papers and free downloads under "Education" and 
"Free Downloads" on the toolbar. While the museum's emphasis is beyond 
our time period, there is much to be learned here.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot