Pipe Major, 93rd Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders), 1892 (c)

Glass negative, W Gregory and Company, 51 Strand, London, 1892 (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 photograph is captioned 93rd Regiment, which had become the 2nd Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1881, but the battalion still preferred the use of their old foot number. The pipe major wears a doublet with double inverness flaps at the front and rear which are decorated with three buttons and piped white. The doublet has a musician's shoulder wings and he wears a glengarry cap.

He wears a kilt in regimental tartan and a sporran of white horse hair with three black tassels. His fly plaid is of the same tartan, and is cast over his shoulder and fastened with a plaid brooch. A sash is also worn across his chest with various decorations. He is playing the bagpipes.

This photograph was probably taken when the regiment was based in North Camp, Aldershot between 1890 and 1892. This was not long before the old wooden huts in that part of Aldershot Camp were demolished to make way for the brick-built Ramillies Barracks.

One of a collection of 280 glass negatives, associated with Gregory and Company, London, and F G O Stuart, 1892 (c)-1900.