The British Army of 1885 - 24 Pages of text and 17 color plates The last twenty years of Queen Victoria’s reign saw the British Empire reach the height of its power. The Royal Navy kept the sea-lanes open and safe for British and world commerce to pursue peaceful trade across the oceans. The far flung colonies were protected by the British Army who were often caught in sharp conflicts with native populations who had yet to realize the benefits of British Rule. In 1885 the British Army had finally, through a series of reforms beginning in 1868, shaken off the ghosts of the Crimean War that had laid bare the parlous conditions within its organization. However, it was an army designed for colonial brush fires, not European warfare. Over two centuries the army had been sustained by its regimental system and in 1885 it was as entrenched as ever. Walter Richards produced a three-volume work describing this army and that of its colonies. The illustrations in these volumes show the home service and dress uniforms of the home army at the time and a complete and detailed description of the uniforms of all the regiments and corps appears in the accompanying text. - Uniformology Uniform Books