Corporal, Royal Horse Artillery, 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, distinguished by the two chevrons on his upper right sleeve, wears full dress. His cap (busby) is made of black fur with a red cloth bag covering the top of the cap and extending down its right side. The white plume made of horsehair. The cap is held on with a chin chain of black leather, and yellow cord caplines loop round onto the breast.

His highly decorative hussar-style full dress tunic is dark blue with red facings on the collar. It has 13 buttons with double cord braids of yellow worsted across the front with a loop at each end. He wears dark blue pantaloons with a broad red stripe down the outside seam, tucked into black riding boots with spurs attached. He has white gloves and his sword is attached to the slings of his white leather sword belt.

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