author

Donald William Stewart

Best known for the 1893 book Old and Rare Scottish Tartans, this late-19th-century tartan researcher helped preserve designs and traditions that still interest historians and collectors today.

1 Audiobook

Old and rare Scottish tartans : $b with historical introduction and descriptive notices

Old and rare Scottish tartans : $b with historical introduction and descriptive notices

by Donald William Stewart

About the author

Donald William Stewart is remembered as the author of Old and Rare Scottish Tartans, first published in 1893. The book became an important reference work because it presented tartans with unusual care and aimed to document older patterns from family collections and other historical sources.

A later study of Stewart and his book describes him as connected to Edinburgh literary and artistic circles, and says he was associated with the firm Romanes & Paterson, the Royal Tartan Warehouse. That background helps explain how he gained the access and practical knowledge needed to compile such a detailed tartan volume.

Not every part of Stewart’s life is well documented, and some biographical details appear only in later commentary rather than in contemporary records. Even so, his reputation rests firmly on the influence of Old and Rare Scottish Tartans, a book that remains notable in the history of tartan research.