Adolphe Alphonse Assi, born April 28, 1841, in Roubaix and died February 8, 1886, in Nouméa, New Caledonia, was a mechanic of Italian origin and a prominent figure of the Paris Commune. This albumen carte-de-visite was produced at the studio of Paul Bacard, who had married Désirée Thiébault, the only daughter of Eugène Thiébault, and taken over the atelier at 31, boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle, signing photographs under the name "Maison Thiébault, Bacard Fils, successeur." The portrait dates to the early 1870s, consistent with Bacard's activity at that address following the suppression of the Commune in 1871.

Assi is shown in a three-quarter bust pose turned slightly to the left, wearing a dark military-style tunic with a double row of buttons at the chest and a cravat at the throat. He wears a kepi with horizontal gold braid trim, and his dark, full beard and moustache are neatly kept. The expression is composed and direct, the overall bearing that of a man in a position of authority. The studio imprint "Thiébault, Bd Bonne Nouvelle, 31" appears in small type at the base of the mount recto.

Assi participated actively in the Le Creusot strikes of January 1870, then as a member of the Paris Commune was deported to New Caledonia. Captured by Versailles troops on May 21, he was condemned by the third war council to deportation. After the amnesty of 1880, he remained in Nouméa working as a mechanic.

The reverse bears the printed studio stamp "Photographie Thiébault / 31 Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, 31 / en face le Théâtre du Gymnase / Bacard Fils / Gendre & Successeur," and an inscription in pencil reading "Assi Adolphe Alphonse, député en nouvelle calédonie" (Assi Adolphe Alphonse, deputy in New Caledonia).