A French tailor sits at his treadle sewing machine surrounded by five women of his family in this occupational albumen print, ca. 1866. He is photographed outdoors in the act of working, with his tool of trade placed at the center of the composition. No photographer's imprint is visible, and the print is housed in a tortoiseshell passe-partout within a black Napoleon III frame.

The tailor wears a tall, flat-topped cap and a heavy mustache, his hands guiding fabric beneath the needle of a machine set on a cast iron base with crossed legs and a flywheel. The seated woman at left works on white fabric while the woman at right holds patterned cloth, and both wear dark dresses with white collars, bows, and long chains at the bodice. Behind them, a standing woman with a lace collar rests her hand on a companion's shoulder before a whitewashed wall with a doorway and window.

Sewing machines were still a considerable investment for a tradesman in the 1860s, and posing with the machine presents the family's livelihood as a point of pride. The outdoor setting on cobbled ground suggests the portrait was taken at the family's own home or workshop.

The reverse bears an inscription in French: "Article du Journal colle au dos Février 1866 / le tailleur et sa famille / acheté à Amboise Printemps 1997" (Newspaper article pasted on the back, February 1866 / the tailor and his family / bought in Amboise, Spring 1997). Framed, approximately 8 5/8 x 7 7/8 inches.