Mamie Thomas, identified by manuscript inscription on the reverse, stands in a backyard in this bizarre remarkably candid amateur cabinet card. The image appears to be a multiple exposure or processing error creating and unusual effect.. The informal outdoor setting, the child's plain day dress, and the unposed expression set this apart sharply from the controlled environment of the commercial studio portrait.

Mamie stands before a tall vertical-plank wooden fence, looking directly toward the camera with a serious, slightly guarded expression. She wears a loose smocked or gathered dress with ruffled collar and cuffed sleeves, her dark curly hair worn loose. The diffused light wash across the lower third of the image obscures her feet and the ground around her, creating an almost spectral effect that was almost certainly unintentional.

The reverse carries a single manuscript inscription reading "Mamie Thomas" in pencil at the upper edge. No photographer's imprint is present on the mount.