74th HLI. A named and dated carte de visite of a young officer, 1867

A good carte de visite by Mayall, 224 Regent Street, London showing the young officer in the mess dress uniform of the 74th Regt of Foot, which became the 2nd Battalion Highland Light Infantry after the 1881 army reforms. He wears mess uniform with tartan trews and peaked hat with regimental number, adopting a dandyish pose with cap at a jaunty angle and hands in waistcoat pocket. The verso identifies the officer in contemporary ink Alfred, just before he joined his Regiment, Nov. 1867. He is  Alfred William James Gow-Steuart who was commissioned into the regiment 30th October 1867 and is the only Alfred in the regiment at the time. By 1870 the 74th was stationed in Gibraltar attached to the 42nd Black Watch and by 1873 they had moved on to Malta in the same capacity.  apr11/3