Officers, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1895 (c)

Glass negative, W Gregory and Company, 51 Strand, London, 1895 (c).

This image comes from a collection of glass plate negatives associated with William Gregory and Company. The negatives depict the British Army, including some members of the colonial forces, 'at home' in Britain during the 1890s.

As well as being intimate portraits of soldiers from this era, the images provide detailed illustrations of uniforms worn during the high point of military tailoring.

The officer in the centre of this image is wearing a peaked forage cap and a jacket which was inspired by the atilla jackets of Hungarian hussars. The tunic has worsted loops across the breast, with caps and drops on each side, and fastened in the centre with olivets. He wears overalls, and carries a sword which is attached to the uniform by a white leather sword sling.

The other two officers wear bearskin caps, with regimental insignia on the front, and a gilt chin chain. They wear scarlet jackets, the collar and cuffs of which are edged with gold lace. The collars of the jackets also have regimental collar badges on either side, and the cuffs are also decorated with gold braid Austrian knots. The officers have gold braid shoulder chords, and carry swords. The officer on the left of the image wears overalls, while the one on the right wears breeches tucked into black 'butcher' boots with a 'V' shaped knotch at the front, and spurs attached.

One of a collection of 278 glass negatives, Gregory and Company, London, 1895 (c)-1900.