A photographic pocket guide to tartan patterns and their history.

Tartans have a long and fascinating history, with patterns specific to a particular region dating back to the 16th century. The wearing of tartans became widespread in Scotland during the 18th century, when clan warriors would choose a particular pattern of colors to show allegiance to a particular leader. Some of the earliest records of whole Scots regiments wearing the same tartan date back to the Seven Years War in Canada (1756–63). Throughout the 20th century, tartans have continued to be devised for special occasions and regions far from the Celtic countries. Nowadays both the United States and Canada have a strong tartan tradition, and there are more than 2,700 known and registered setts in circulation, of which this book contains many of the best known. Featuring more than 250 setts, Tartans is a comprehensive guide to the ancient tartans of Scotland and Ireland, along with many other tartans adopted by organizations and regions around the world in more recent times. For anyone interested in tracing their Celtic roots and investigating the tartans of the Scottish clans, this is an accessible and attractive reference guide.