This photograph is from the series Street Life in London, first published in instalments in 1877-1878. The publication was one of the earliest social documentary photography projects. The people were posed by the photographer but the results were often naturalistic because of the authentic subjects and surroundings. John Thomson and the journalist Adolphe Smith wrote commentaries to accompany each image. Here they noted that the cavalry sergeants standing outside the pub were employed to 'cajole simple minded and ignorant youths' to join the infantry. They were paid for each man they enlisted. Between the heads of the sergeants is a policeman, stationed outside the pub to 'keep order'.