'The exact origin of tartan in Scotland is simply unknown despite several centuries of research and a large amount of conjecture but has been worn by the Highland Scots at least as far back as the sixteenth century. By the early 1700's the wearing of tartan had spread south. Tartan was coming to be regarded as part of the Scottish national dress.' This is part of the fascinating introduction to this unusual book which will be of interest not only to tartan weavers and students but also anyone interested in following the course of this unique dress wear which spread to other parts of the globe.

Very many people associate tartans with clans, especially the well-known ones, but only certain Scottish family names have tartans specifically associated with them. Readers, therefore, desirous of wearing tartan who can find no connection with such a family will find this book of special interest. They may now have the choice of wearing a district tartan appro-priate to the place of their origin, their residence or a particular district.

The district tartan concept is truly old and probably better supported from documented sources than clan tartans. Even to this day there is a strong sense of place among Gaelic-speaking Highlanders: they will talk of 'a Barra man', 'a Lochaber man'. The proliferation of district tartans outside Scotland is evidence that the tradition lives on.

District Tartans with 110 splendidly coloured plates is the first book to give a comprehensive account of the subject, which since the Second World War has been of greater interest than clan tartan both within Scotland and abroad.

To demonstrate the antiquity of some of the district tartans and the worldwide link with Scotland, the authors have chosen over fifty from Scotland, twenty from the rest of the British Isles and thirty-four from the Commonwealth, USA and Netherlands.

Finally, the authors demonstrate the importance of thread counts as a means of identifying tartans, and advice and information is offered on what tartans to wear using several official sources of authority.

The authors are highly qualified to approach this unusual subject, the late Gordon Teall of Teallach was Executive President and Chairman of the Scottish Tartans Society and Phillip D. Smith is the author of Tartan for Me.