An acrobat in close-fitting performance costume stands balanced atop a large sphere fixed to the peak of a tall spiral-wound pole, arms extended outward at his sides in a display of equilibrium high above the Crystal Palace grounds at Sydenham. The photograph is an albumen print CDV produced by Negretti and Zambra, the official photographers of the Crystal Palace Company, whose appointment gave them privileged access to document events and spectacles within the grounds. The card dates to the period of the firm's active Crystal Palace practice, most likely the 1860s to 1870s.

The spiral iron framework winds in three wide helical loops around a central mast, braced by a network of wire stays, with a small pennant flag flying from the finial above the performer. Below, the Crystal Palace terrace, garden paths, and a line of mature trees are visible in the soft midground, giving a strong sense of the considerable height of the apparatus. The performer stands in bare legs and a short costume, his stance relaxed and arms open, conveying practiced confidence.

Negretti and Zambra became the official photographers of the Crystal Palace Company when the palace was re-erected at Sydenham in 1854, and the firm made use of their access to produce numerous views of the building and its grounds and entertainments. The Crystal Palace was regularly the scene of daring feats by world-famous performers. This CDV, catalogued as number 14 in the firm's series, documents one such outdoor spectacle as a commercial souvenir card sold to visitors.

Reverse bears the printed imprint "Negretti and Zambra, Photographers to the Crystal Palace, Sydenham," with the printed legend "Copies may be had by quoting the above number," the catalog number 14 filled in by hand in ink, and a manuscript inscription in a later hand reading "Collection Joseph Thibault."