Scarlett Archives
During his later life, James D. Scarlett MBE, FSA(Scot) was
regarded as the greatest living expert on the subject of tartan
although he would be quick to disassociate himself from such an
all-embracing accolade. He insisted that he was neither expert nor
academic but a methodical researcher! Let his articles and
published works speak for themselves.
The Scottish Tartans Authority was delighted to have Jamie
Scarlett as a Lifetime Honorary Member and was honoured to
establish the online Scarlett Archives to bring together in
electronic form, many of his research papers and published and
unpublished works.
Readers will soon notice that Jamie - in his unique literary style
- was quick to debunk tartan humbug and it is a theme that he
returns to in many works. Such a philosophy may not at times make a
comfortable bedfellow for Scotland's vitally important tartan
weaving industry but such a censorial overseer is very valuable in
reminding us of our duty to Scotland's tartan heritage.
James Desmond Scarlett was born in London in 1920 and educated at
various private schools. Jamie was already a member of the Royal
Air Force Voluntary Reserve (RAFVR) when war broke out in 1939 and
in September of that year he joined the Royal Air Force where he
served a technical capacity until February 1946, picking up various
useful accomplishments on the way.
After demob, he trained as a quantity surveyor, preserving a degree
of sanity by indulging in serious photography and learning to fly
light aircraft. Jamie admits to some Scots ancestry but considers
it to be pretty dilute by this time and explains that a latent
interest in tartan was rekindled during a chance holiday encounter
in Perthshire in 1963 which led to a long and fruitful
collaboration with D. C. Stewart which ended only with Stewart's
death in 1977.
Jamie gave up quantity surveying in 1976 to lead a quieter life in
the wilds of Scotland with his late and much-loved wife Meta and
their pets.
He now lives alone in his isolated 'croft' with his two cats and
his two home-made looms and still finds time to pursue various
lines of academic research, design new tartans and even write new
books, his latest publication being The Origins and Development of
Military Tartans.*
By the same Author:
Tartans of Scotland (1972)
The Tartan Spotter's Guide (1973)
Scotland's Clans and Tartans (1975)
The Tartans of the Scottish Clans (1975)
How to Weave Fine Cloth (1981)
The Tartan Weaver's Guide (1985)*
Tartan: The Highland Textile (1990)*
Understanding Tartan (1996)
The Highland People (1997)*
The Tartans of the Clan Chattan Confederation (2003)