Figure 1.--This CDV portrait shows an unidentified Glasgow boy earing a British Army uniform. Unfortunately the badge on the cap is impossible to make out. We believe that he is a new recruit. He looks to be about 13 years old. Note that there are no badges or any emblems except on the pill box cap. Also interesting is the chin strsp and the jaunty angle the boy is wearing the cap. The CDV is undated, but we believe was probably taken in the 1880s. The studio is James Short in Glasgow.

The pillbox cap is of course a British military style, but as is apparent on this page, we see all kinds of British styles worn in Scotland. We do not think the boy here is wearing the uniform as some kind of costume or as a juvenile outfit like a sailor's suit. The unidentified Glasgow boy looks to be bvoutb 13 years old. And in the 19th century, the British military, both the Royal Navy and the British Army accepted boys as recruits. The boys here is thus most probably a recruit in the British Army. here was a boy soldier depicted in the famous painting of the Zulu War -- the disaster at the Isandlwana (1879). This practice was becoming less common in the late-19th century and persisted in the Navy longer than the Army. The CDV poertrait here is undated, but was probably taken in the 1880s, although the 1870s is possible. (The CDV has rounded corners.) Another possibility is some kind of military school, but we think a boy recruit is most likely. Unfortunately there is no information about the boy on the back, only standard studio information indicating a Glasgow studio.

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Created: 8:31 PM 10/17/2024
Last updated: 8:31 PM 10/17/2024