Edinburgh District (District) Tartan
- Name of Tartan:
- Edinburgh District (District)
- ITI Number:
- 1163
- Category:
- District
- Designer / Source:
- MacPherson, Hugh
- Date:
- 1970
- Slog:
- WBR:KRG
- Colour Sequence:
- WBRRRRGRK
- Thread Count:
- WW6 BB50 LDR6 R6 LDR6 R10 G20 LDR6 K4
- Notes:
-
The Edinburgh tartan was designed and registered by the late Hugh Macpherson of Edinburgh in 1970 to mark the Commonwealth Games being held there that year. In more recent times this pattern has provided inspiration for two quite separate patterns named "Dunedin" in Florida, USA, and Dunedin in New Zealand. "Dunedin" is an alternative (or lyrical) form of Edinburgh used by towns in these countries.
Tartans Society notes say: Several attempts have been made to develop a special tartan for the residents of Edinburgh. None had success until the design by Councillor Hugh Macpherson in 1970 on the occasion of the Commonwealth Games. The colours have symbolic references to the City of Edinburgh. Sample in STA Dalgety Collection.
In 2006 an interesting note came to light in the Johnston Collection. In 1974 J C Thompson wrote (to whom we don’t know) The Edinburgh tartan " . . .was designed by Hugh MacPherson (I believe then Mayor of Edinburgh) in 1970. It is, to my mind, an uninspired color variant of the Nova Scotia, which predated it by many years." (1953). A comparison of both, certainly confirms this claim and it would tie in with Hugh MacPherson’s modus operandi in that he did not (to our knowledge as at 2006) produce any original designs but merely changed the colours in a host of clan tartans and renamed them ‘dance’ or ‘dress’.
