Corporal Major and Standard, Royal Horse Guards, 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 corporal major is pictured wearing mounted review order. This comprises a brass helmet with a laurel and oak leaf gilt spray with a garter star. Above this was a Victoria crown. The helmet for the Royal Horse Guards has a large red horse hair plume.

He wears a blue full dress tunic with red facings and a cuirass worn over the top. The cuirass consists of front and back polished steel plates shaped to fit the body, secured at the shoulder by brass scales attached to studs on the front plate. The cuirass was only worn in mounted review order, with white buckskin breeches and black jack boots, as seen here.

He has plaited gold shoulder cords with an aiguillette attached on the left shoulder. This has loops with gold needles hanging down to the middle of the tunic. As standard bearer, the corporal major wears a carriage belt of gold lace with two crimson cloth stripes at each side. He wears white leather gauntlets and carries the regimental standard on a staff.

His horse has a black leather bridle with a buff head band and the soldier sits on a black lambskin saddle cover.

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