Recruiting Sergeants at Westminster (1877): Art, History and Details

Recruiting Sergeants at Westminster (1877) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is John Thomson (Scottish, 1837–1921).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The sergeants, who held these posts for many years, were paid by the recruit, receiving a little over £1 for each person who ended up serving in the army. Out of that, the recruiters had to pay expenses, including giving each enlistee a shilling (1/20th of a pound) and paying “bringers” who supplied them with likely prospects. In 1875, 3,605 approved recruits were enlisted from London.

Object facts

• Title: Recruiting Sergeants at Westminster
• Date: 1877
• Creator attribution: John Thomson (Scottish, 1837–1921)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: woodburytype
• Dimensions: Image: 11 x 8.7 cm (4 5/16 x 3 7/16 in.); Paper: 11 x 8.7 cm (4 5/16 x 3 7/16 in.); Mounted: 27 x 20.7 cm (10 5/8 x 8 1/8 in.)
• Collection: PH - British 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2019.50

A detail from the museum

The hub of army recruitment in London in the late 19th century was this street corner, the site of the Mitre and Dove, a pub with a name that ironically invoked the church and peace.

Collection credit

Photography Discretionary Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.