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Tartan samples, woven by William Wilson & Sons, Bannockburn, near Stirling

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Tartan samples, woven by William Wilson & Sons, Bannockburn, near Stirling
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These two tartan samples, mounted on paper, were woven by William Wilson & Sons, a tartan weaving firm from Bannockburn near Stirling.

The pencil inscription underneath the samples reads, 'DRESS MACINTOSH'. The upper specimen is an unnamed tartan c.1780-1800 and is an example of Wilsons of Bannockburn's ‘Old Superfine’ fine cloth woven at 19” wide. There is also a specimen of this tartan in the Highland Folk Museum, Kingussie. The lower specimen is Wilsons' ‘MacKintosh’, later ‘Old MacKintosh’ which was listed in their 1819 Key Pattern Book. The sample dates to c.1800 (+/-15 years).

Reputedly founded in 1724, with surviving records from 1765, Wilsons monopolized the supply of tartan cloth to the army up until the mid-19th century. They also met the ever increasing public demand for tartan.

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