Old and rare Scottish tartans — Themes and Context

Authenticity Debates and the Vestiarium Scoticum

Stewart includes a lengthy discussion of the Vestiarium Scoticum, a manuscript that claimed to record ancient clan tartans. He reproduces a letter from Sir Walter Scott, who expresses interest but insists the original manuscript be examined for authenticity by the Deputy Register. Stewart also quotes a correspondent who describes the manuscript's contents: after listing tartans, it includes a dissertation on 'womenis quhite plaids clyppit Arryssadis' and a treatise on 'Hoses and Trewsis.' The correspondent urges publication with silk ribbon samples. This episode shows that the book is not merely a descriptive catalog but also a document of contemporary controversies over tartan origins.

Reproduction Challenges and Material Choices

Stewart devotes considerable attention to the difficulty of accurately reproducing tartan patterns. He criticizes earlier works for failing to render crossed colors correctly, noting that lithography works for solid colors but not for the 'most important and intricate portion of the design.' The solution proposed for the Vestiarium was to weave silk ribbons of each pattern and paste them onto paper. Stewart's own volume uses a different method, but the concern with fidelity is central. This technical focus is not implied by the simple subject heading 'Tartans -- Scotland,' which suggests a straightforward reference work rather than a meta-commentary on illustration.

Social Context and Wearers' Agency

Stewart's excerpts reveal that tartan wearing was not always strictly regulated by clan. The Vestiarium manuscript notes that women's plaids were 'not orderit after their clannes, but after their awin conceits and as it liketh them.' A letter mentions 'Scotte, Blaeberrye' as a badge, with a hope that a Miss Scott would wear it. These details show that tartan use involved personal choice and fashion, not just clan identity. Stewart's inclusion of such material broadens the book beyond a simple pattern guide, addressing the social history of tartan as worn by different genders and classes.

Stewart's work is best approached as a historical document that records both tartan patterns and the debates surrounding their authenticity and reproduction. Readers interested in the technical aspects of textile illustration or the social history of Highland dress will find as much value as those seeking pattern references. The book's richness lies in its inclusion of correspondence, manuscript descriptions, and practical challenges, all of which complicate the straightforward catalog subject.

That rainy afternoon, I kept returning to Stewart’s careful doubts about which tartans were truly old, and which were merely dressed up for portraits. The way he sifted evidence felt like archaeology of trust. Later, the knuckles of rain against glass reminded me of another kind of ground shifting, and I found myself reaching for Earthquakes — A Closer Reading, where certainty trembles differently.