A cut branch of black currant, Ribes nigrum, bearing two clusters of ripe fruit and four lobed leaves is the subject of this albumen carte-de-visite published by J.E. Tilton and Co. of 161 Washington Street, Boston, with the reverse bearing the additional line "Photographed by Black," confirming James Wallace Black as the photographer. Black's involvement elevates this Tilton botanical series significantly, as he was one of Boston's most accomplished and versatile photographers, known equally for portraiture, aerial photography, and documentary work throughout the 1860s and 1870s.

The branch is presented diagonally across the image, two distinct berry clusters hanging from thin curved stems, each cluster containing twelve to fifteen round dark berries with the characteristic dried flower remnant visible at the tip of each fruit. Four deeply lobed leaves with serrated edges fan upward from the branch junction, their surface texture rendered with fine detail. The plain light ground and absence of any vase or prop follow the spare compositional approach consistent across the Tilton series.

The reverse bears the standard black-printed circular imprint of J.E. Tilton and Co., Photograph Albums and Cartes de Visite, 161 Washn. St., Boston, with the additional printed line "Photographed by Black" below the central album vignette.