The Guard, 17th (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers, 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 six soldiers on the right of the image are other ranks, including a lance corporal (fourth from the right), a sergeant (fifth from the right), and a bugler (third from the left). They all wear dismounted review order dress including the lancer cap (czapka). This has a black leather skull and plain black patent leather peak with ribbed cloth on all four sides and topped with white leather. The drooping plume is made of white horse hair. The regimental plate is fixed on the lower part of the cap, with lion's head bosses on each side, to which the chin chains are attached.

Their tunics are blue with a white front (plastron) collar and cuffs. They have white leather pouch belts and leather gauntlets, and worsted cap lines cross the breast of the jacket. Four of them hold a lance with pennon and they all have their swords. The bugler is holding his bugle.

The officer on the far left of the photograph wears stable dress. His blue stable jacket has white facings on the cuffs and collar, edged with gold lace. The gold lace also runs down the front and around the bottom He wears a blue pillbox forage cap with gold band and cross braid. He holds his sword in his right hand.

The other officer (second from the left) wears a dark blue undress patrol jacket. It has blue mohair braiding on the front. He wears the same pillbox forage cap and also holds his sword in his right hand.

All eight wear dark blue overalls with a double white stripe on the outside seam over black boots.

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