The book, which is numbered 37 of 500 copies, is set to fetch between £500-800 in the sale. It also provides a historical observation on the literature, art, manufactures, and commerce of the Highlands and Western Isles during the middle ages, and on the influence of the sixteenth century, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries upon their present condition.

The books authors have been the subject of much controversy in recent years, and were recently the subject of the BBC documentary Spinning a Yarn: The Dubious History of Scottish Tartan.

Costume of the Clans was published by John and Charles Allen, the sons of a naval officer, who moved to Scotland from England and changed their name to Sobieski Stuart, claiming to be descended from Bonnie Prince Charlie.

When it was first published, the book was celebrated by the gentry, but experts now insist the brothers were fantasists or early marketing geniuses, who invented many of the tartans and traditions themselves.

They also claimed to have discovered a manuscript, Vestiarium Scoticum, or wardrobe of the Scots, which could be traced back to the 1580s.

Vestiarium Scoticum was published in 1842, followed in 1845 by The Costume of the Clans.

Brian Wilton, director of the Scottish Tartans Authority, said: “The Costume of the Clans is amazing, filled with fantastic illustrations. The problem is, one does not know what is fantasy and what might be based on fact.“The Sobieskis produced beautiful tartan designs, and even allocated tartans to families, who had never had a tartan before, particularly in the Lowlands.“Of course, they were only too happy to accept everything the Sobieskis said, because it made them the equal of those in society who were connected to the Highlands.“Much of it was pure fantasy, but they were hugely influential. Following the visit to Scotland of George IV in 1822, the Sobieskis helped establish the importance of tartan.“Most of these are the tartans we have today for the clans.”Henry Baggott of Bonhams said: “This particularly impressive book had an enormous impact when it was originally published in 1845, and lavishly reproduced nearly 50 years later in 1892. It is beautifully bound and the artwork is striking.

“There could be a large market for this book, including perhaps among clan chiefs. There is also a strong market in America for this kind of thing.”

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Mr Lundgren channeling Scotland

A bus driver in the northern Swedish town of Umea has begun wearing a skirt to work as temperatures sore past 25C. Mats Lundgren decided to find a trouser alternative when his boss turned down his request to wear shorts to work, stating he was fed up of sitting in the drivers’ seat for hours at a time in dark uniform trousers.

“The Scottish are very lucky to be able to wear kilts all the time,” he said – adding he was not trying to imitate all of the traditions that come with wearing one. Mr Lundgren is exploiting a loophole in the firm’s dress code, which allows skirts to be worn but does not specify which sex should be wearing them.

“The reaction here has been nice – the passengers all smile and my workmates think it’s hilarious, but I don’t expect to set a trend among them,” he told BBC News Online. “I wore it all day yesterday. It was very nice to have a bit of a breeze.”

As Mr Lundgren settles into the driver’s seat, the navy blue skirt slides up his thighs just above his bony knees, revealing a pair of hairy white legs. “It’s even better than shorts. It’s unbearable driving a bus in long trousers when the sun is blazing through the windscreen, but with the skirt it feels just great,” he says.

“I am divorced, so I had to borrow the skirt from a friend. Unfortunately, she is a couple of sizes smaller than me, which means I have to squeeze into it,” he added.

Rolf Persson, managing director of Umea’s transport authority said he was surprised to see Mr Lundgren dressed this way. But his hands were tied, he said, as careful perusal of regulations produced no mention of rules about men in skirts.

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Kilted Golden Driller

The iconic Golden Driller statue in the Oklahoma city of Tulsa has been made a temporary Scotsman after he was dressed in what has been claimed as the world’s largest kilt. The statue has been dressed in the 170 yard Black Watch kilt to help kick off the Oklahoma Scottish Festival, which starts on the 16th of September.

The festival’s Executive Director, Steve Campbell said, “Putting it on the Driller was difficult. We got some help from the Tulsa Fire Department, which is great.” But he did add “It’s nothing I would try to do again.”

The festival’s website is: http://www.tulsascottishgames.org/

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OW!

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