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Gordon Highlanders kilt

Article about: A very nice find in a local antiques emporium yesterday! A Gordon Highlanders kilt - with an excellent date label - for just £30! One strap and one buckle are absent, but what the heck? I c

  1. #1
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    Default Gordon Highlanders kilt

    A very nice find in a local antiques emporium yesterday!
    A Gordon Highlanders kilt - with an excellent date label - for just £30!
    One strap and one buckle are absent, but what the heck? I couldn’t get me wallet out quick enough!

    Gordon Highlanders kiltGordon Highlanders kilt

    And a little history:
    The Gordon tartan is the regimental tartan of the famous Gordon Highlanders and was selected by Alexander, the 4th Duke, from a choice of three submitted by William Forsyth, a weaver and outfitter from the town of Huntly.
    Forsyth wrote on 15th April 1793 'When I had the honour of communing with His Grace the Duke of Gordon, he was desirous to have patterns of the 42nd Regiment plaid with a small yellow stripe properly placed. I imagine the yellow stripes will appear very lively.'
    A Gordon website claims that the Duke offered the other two Forsyth samples to Gordon Branch or Cadet Families. The Gordons of Hallhead and Esslemont selected the tartan with three yellow lines and the Gordon-Cumming of Altyre and Gordonstoun chose the tartan with two yellow lines. The earliest known date from a list compiled by D.C. Stewart from Wilsons of Bannockburn letters is 1798.

    Huntly is quite local to me and the yellow stripe is, indeed, ‘very lively’!
    All the best,
    Rob

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    That's a nice bargain!

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    Nice find!

    Although now we are rivals for the local antique shops

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    Your great-grandad’s Regiment too, I believe, Jb!
    Just need a nice cutaway SD tunic now..

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    And my dads Kohima! I have 80s dated Gordon highlander kilts at home. They don’t make them anymore of course!

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    Well done!
    Had good advice? Saved money? Why not become a Gold Club Member, just hit the green "Join WRF Club" tab at the top of the page and help support the forum!

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    Rob, that was an absolute steal but you know that. It's is not a difficult thing to have the strap and buckle replaced and of course there are plenty of businesse up there that specialise in just that kind of thing. With what you paid I reckon it would bery very economical to have it done properly and the enhanced value would outweigh the cost.

    Regards

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

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    Thanks Mark, I can do the restoration myself (bit of a seamster), and I think I may even have a spare buckle kicking around in a button box somewhere.. I picked up a shattered 42nd Government kilt, years ago, to restore another (though can’t remember what bits were left over).
    The tricksy part is finding a reasonable match for the strap, but again, I routinely ‘gather’ old leather straps and spare parts, so I may have something acceptable already. If not, I shall try to track down a moth-raddled kilt with salvageable fittings. It will never be an exact match, of course, but so long as the age-wear is conducive, it will look as if it belongs.
    Although they would make a thoroughly professional job of it, naturally, the drawback with a modern kilt maker is that they would simply use brand new, modern chemically-tanned leather, from stock, rather than seek out worn, niffy old veg-dyed stuff.

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    Quote by Kohima View Post
    Thanks Mark, I can do the restoration myself (bit of a seamster), and I think I may even have a spare buckle kicking around in a button box somewhere.. I picked up a shattered 42nd Government kilt, years ago, to restore another (though can’t remember what bits were left over).
    The tricksy part is finding a reasonable match for the strap, but again, I routinely ‘gather’ old leather straps and spare parts, so I may have something acceptable already. If not, I shall try to track down a moth-raddled kilt with salvageable fittings. It will never be an exact match, of course, but so long as the age-wear is conducive, it will look as if it belongs.
    Although they would make a thoroughly professional job of it, naturally, the drawback with a modern kilt maker is that they would simply use brand new, modern chemically-tanned leather, from stock, rather than seek out worn, niffy old veg-dyed stuff.
    Absolutely correct yet it wouldn't be the first time that I have taken an item to a tailors and told them "I don't want you to use new material. I want you to use this" and hand them the appropriate piece of scrap. As long as you make it clear that you accept responsibility for such material being used I find they are usually OK. Sometimes a bit bemused but when you explain the authenticity angle that usually does the trick as long as the material you want them to use is actually viable!

    Let us know how it goes.

    Regards

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

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    One detail I neglected to add to the original post is the service number and name of the original wearer - 23547979 Jarvie
    There is something else handwritten beneath the name, but it is too heavily worn to be legible (I shall continue to experiment with lighting and see if I can pull anything out of it).
    The number itself seems quite high and may be from a later issue. If anyone is able to find any history for Mr. Jarvie, I shall be extremely grateful, as ever.
    Many thanks and all the best,
    Rob
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Gordon Highlanders kilt  

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