A child dressed in an elaborate patriotic American flag costume holds a full-sized Stars and Stripes on a staff in this cabinet card, identified on the reverse as a portrait made for the Washington Centennial celebration of April 30 and May 1, 1889, with the subject named as Chas. Grinch. The no photographer's imprint is visible on this example, but the event date places it precisely within one of the most widely celebrated patriotic commemorations in nineteenth-century American history.

The child stands in full length wearing a striped skirt fashioned from flag bunting, a light jacket with a star pattern, and a pointed liberty cap with a dark feather or cockade at the crown, with long curly hair falling to the shoulders. A large American flag leans against the child's right side, its stars and stripes clearly rendered, and the staff is topped with a spear finial. A painted fern and foliage backdrop fills the right background.

The Washington Centennial of 1889 marked the hundredth anniversary of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States on April 30, 1789, and was celebrated with major public events centered in New York City, including parades, ceremonies, and civic pageants. Patriotic costume portraits made for the occasion are documented but not common survivors.

The reverse bears ink inscriptions reading "Chas. Grinch," "Washington Centennial," and "Ap. 30th & May 1st 1889." No photographer's imprint is present.