Arthur Orton, known to Victorian Britain as the Tichborne Claimant, is depicted here in a cabinet card albumen print issued and copyrighted by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company. The image presents him in a three-quarter profile, his imposing bulk filling the oval vignette, and was produced as part of the commercial celebrity portraiture for which the firm was widely known. Founded in 1854, the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company had relocated its principal premises to 108–110 Regent Street by 1866–1867, precisely the address printed on the reverse, placing this card in the period of the trials.

Orton is shown in a dark frock coat worn open over a polka-dotted waistcoat, with a small bow tie at the collar and a watch chain draped across his expansive chest. His hair is worn full at the sides, his expression is heavy and downturned, and his hands are clasped behind his back in a posture that conveys guarded self-possession rather than ease.

The Tichborne case was a legal cause célèbre that fascinated Victorian Britain in the 1860s and 1870s, concerning the claims of a man known as Thomas Castro or Arthur Orton to be the missing heir to the Tichborne baronetcy; he failed to convince the courts, was convicted of perjury, and served a 14-year prison sentence. The criminal perjury trial alone lasted 188 days, making it one of the longest in England's history.

The front mount bears the printed caption "THE CLAIMANT OF THE TICHBORNE BARONETCY" with the attribution "STEREOSCOPIC CO" at lower left and "COPYRIGHT" at lower right. The reverse carries the full printed imprint of the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company at 110 and 108 Regent Street and 54 Cheapside, identifying the firm as photographers to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, and as sole photographers to the International Exhibition of 1862.