A Scottish tartan historian is on the hunt for old blankets, kilts or pieces of cloth that are key to unlocking the story.
Peter Eslea MacDonald has a passion for hand-woven, plaid fabrics and believes that pieces of tartan found in the Littoral that were brought by settlers can offer a window into his country’s forgotten past.
“The hope is to find remnants of techniques that were lost in Scotland,” said MacDonald, who has studied tartans for 40 years.
MacDonald believes important pieces of tartan are yet to be discovered. At the top of his list of most sought-after finds are old pieces of the government watch of the Black Watch.
“I estimated that about 1780 years ago, about 14 miles of it was woven for the military, most of whom served in the North American campaigns. And no piece is known to have survived before about 1795, so this is indeed the Holy Grail. “
MacDonald is hosting Antiques Roadshow events in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, where he will be considering pieces of tartan or a highland dress.
An “exclusive” fabric found in Antigonish 30 years ago
MacDonald last visited Nova Scotia about 30 years ago when he found a piece of cloth in Antigonish that had been created using forgotten Scottish technology.
“I was on the trail of a certain plaid piece of blanket,” he said. “I followed him to a family and he was exceptional in the way he was woven. He used techniques that were not known [in Scotland] but old techniques must have been used [to Canada]”
MacDonald said his passion for everything tartan was passed on from his father, who worked as an anthropologist specializing in the history of the Scottish Highlands.
MacDonald fell in love with his models at a very young age and learned to weave age-old patterns by hand. He even recreated the famous Moy Hall set, which is believed to have been worn by Bonnie Prince Charlie, one of the most romantic figures in European history.
“Nothing you see in a shop is no longer hand-woven,” said MacDonald, head of research at the Scottish Tartan Authority.
“This is the kind of technique that interests me the most. But also to find out how the information about them was passed on, because we just don’t know. “
One of the biggest challenges in uncovering the history of tartan is that woolen fabrics are usually destroyed by moths and soil.
And while he can usually determine the age of a piece of fabric just by looking at it, MacDonald said determining its value is much more difficult. Some pieces sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars, while others that have unlocked a forgotten past are priceless.
Search your wardrobes and ceilings
MacDonald said the Antigonish blanket may not be the only piece of fabric hidden in people’s homes for centuries.
“We’re really trying to get some of them out of the window,” he said. “It’s possible they may not realize the importance of some of the things they have.”
As part of his trip to Canada, MacDonald is due to visit the Highland Village Museum in Jonah, NS on Friday and will then move to the Antigonish Heritage Museum on Saturday.
He concludes his trip with a visit to the village of Glenaladale in Tracadie, PEI, on Sunday and Monday during the 250th anniversary celebrations of the community.
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