Charles Blondin, born Jean François Gravelet on 28 February 1824, was a French tightrope walker and acrobat who achieved international fame in the mid-19th century. This albumen carte-de-visite, produced by the London firm Negretti & Zambra, dates to the 1860s and presents the celebrated funambulist in a full-length studio portrait alongside the thick coiled rope that defined his career. Negretti & Zambra had entered photography by 1855 and served as official photographers to the Crystal Palace Company, maintaining a portrait studio there.

Blondin stands in three-quarter profile wearing a light linen suit and waistcoat over a dark bow tie, holding a top hat and slender cane at his side. His dark wavy hair and full beard are neatly groomed, and his expression is composed and self-assured. To his right, a massive coil of braided rope dominates the lower half of the frame, with a placard bearing the name "BLONDIN" prominently affixed to it, anchoring the image firmly to his public identity.

Born in 1824 in France, Blondin was already a tightrope performer by age four, and his greatest feat came on June 30, 1859, when he became the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. To keep audiences engaged across his many crossings, Blondin introduced variations including walking blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow, walking on stilts, and stopping midway to cook and eat an omelet.

The reverse bears the printed imprint: "NEGRETTI & ZAMBRA, No. 1, Hatton Garden, E.C.; 122, Regent Street, W. (Late Newman); 59, Cornhill, E.C.; and The Crystal Palace, Sydenham, S.E."