in fact mainly consisted of an examination of the authenticity of the Vestiarium Scoticum. In 1848, John Sobieski Stuart replied to the Quarterly Review article with a treatise of his own entitled The Genuineness of the Vestiarium Scoticum. In this reply, Stuart offered the 1721 edition for inspection. In his part, Skene expressed a desire for the original manuscript, which was said to have once belonged to Bishop Ross, to be exhibited. In the end, no record of anyone examining the 1721 copy at that time exists, and no one, other than the Sobieski Stuart brothers, ever saw the Ross copy. In 1895, the Glasgow Herald published a series of articles titled "The Vestiarium Scoticum, is it a forgery?" authored by Andrew Ross. Ross was able to locate the 1721 copy, but not any earlier manuscripts. He gave a detailed description of the 1721 copy, and had it subjected to chemical testing by Stevenson Macadam, a chemist. Macadam reported that the "document [bore] evidence of having been treated with chemical agents in order to give the writing a more aged appearance than it is entitled to". He concluded that "the manuscript cannot be depended upon as an ancient document". This 1721 copy was also presented for examination to a Mr. Robert Irvine, the director of a chemical firm who reported that it was "impossible to arrive at any accurate conclusion pointing to the age of the writing". In earlier years, there was some discussion of publishing a second edition of the Vestiarium Scoticum (the first edition had a press run of only several dozen copies), but nothing came of these discussions. See also Ossian Manuscripts of Dvůr Králové and of Zelená Hora Notes References John Telfer Dunbar, History of highland dress: A definitive study of the history of Scottish costume and tartan, both civil and military, including weapons, Hugh Trevor-Roper, The Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland, in The Invention of Tradition editors: Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. Cambridge University Press, 1983, Works cited Stewart, Donald C. & Thompson, J Charles. & Scarlett James (editor). Scotland's Forged Tartans, An analytical study of the Vestiarium Scoticum. Edinburgh: Paul Harris Publishing, 1980. Stewart, Donald C. The Setts of the Scottish Tartans, with descriptive and historical notes. London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1974. External links Two pictures of a copy of the Vestiarium Scoticum displayed in the Burns House Museum : both opened and