Three Soldiers of the Coldstream Guards

10" x 8" glass plate negative showing three soldiers from the Coldstream Guards who served in the Crimean War. From right to left are Joseph Numa, John Potter and James Deal. Potter is standing behind a wooden table wearing a bearskin hat, resting a forearm on items of kit on the table. Numa and Deal are both resting one leg on the table and are each holding a rifle. Another rucksack is in front of the table, in the foreground. All three are wearing the uniform of their regiment with a medal.

Throughout the war Queen Victoria had taken an active interest in the welfare of the troops and on their return from the Crimea she met a number of the veterans at Buckingham Palace, Chatham Military Hospital and Aldershot Garrison. Following these meetings she commissioned a series of photographs of the veterans from the photographers Joseph Cundall and Robert Howlett. 

The glass plate negative has been photographed showing the coated side and therefore the image appears laterally reversed. Prints from this negative exist in the Collection (e.g. RCIN 2500203).