Photographed in the immediate aftermath of the Paris Commune, this cabinet card documents the gutted interior of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministère de l'Intérieur), reduced to roofless, fire-blackened walls and cascading rubble during the Bloody Week of May 1871. The image was produced and published under the series title "Insurrection de Paris 1871" by Jules Hippolyte Queval, who issued Commune ruin photographs under the imprint "Q.V." in Paris. The mount carries a blue decorative border, and the printed credit on the face reads "Phot. par Q.V. à Paris."

Two figures stand prominently in the foreground amid collapsed masonry, one in a dark coat and top hat and another in a dark jacket with hands in pockets, while at least four additional figures are visible farther into the devastated corridor. Tall stone columns rise on either side, partially intact, framing a receding vista of gutted walls, hollow window arches, and heaped stone debris stretching toward an open sky. No roof survives the length of the structure, and a damaged building facade is faintly visible at the far end.

For 72 days, from 18 March to 28 May 1871, the Parisian insurgents of the Commune attempted to overthrow the nascent Third Republic before being violently defeated during the Semaine sanglante. Following the recapture of Paris by the Versaillais, photographers were employed to document the destruction of buildings, presenting the ruins as evidence of Communard destruction, though many had resulted from Versailles artillery bombardment.

Inscribed in ink on the reverse: "le Ministère de l'Intérieur" (the Ministry of the Interior). Oval ink stamp on reverse reads "Estampes Photographiques / Albums & Papeterie / P. Laforce / 206, R. de Rivoli, Paris," indicating retail distribution through the Laforce stationery and print shop on the Rue de Rivoli. Additional notations in pencil: "3/24/14" and "L0BCE2," with a monogram "ED" in the lower left corner.