Charlotte Corday was one of the most controversial figures of the French Revolution, known for the assassination of radical Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat on July 13, 1793. This CDV presents a photographic reproduction of a portrait of Corday rendered in a soft lithographic style, showing a three-quarter bust view against a plain ground, with the subject's name printed in red letterpress type along the lower mount. The studio imprint on the reverse identifies the publisher as E. Neurdein at 28 Boulevard de Sébastopol, Paris, an address the firm occupied beginning in 1869. The Neurdein brothers moved quickly from portraiture into photographic publishing, with historical portraits among their first editorial productions.

The subject is depicted in a frilled lace bonnet adorned with a ribbon rosette at the left temple, dark ringlet curls framing her face, and a wide white fichu draped over a dark fitted bodice with a visible waistband. Her expression is calm and direct, her gaze level with the viewer, conveying the composed demeanor that became central to her posthumous romanticization in art and print.

Born into minor nobility in Normandy, Corday aligned politically with the moderate Girondins, who opposed the radical Montagnards led by Marat. Following her execution on July 17, 1793, she became a revolutionary martyr, her assassination of Marat viewed as both a protest against the bloodshed of the Reign of Terror and a demonstration of women's capacity to shape the course of the Revolution.

Reverse imprint in red script and letterpress: "E. Neurdein / 28, Bould. de Sebastopol / PARIS." (E. Neurdein / 28 Boulevard de Sébastopol / Paris.), with "PORTRAITS, VUES, REPRODUCTIONS." printed at the base; pencil notations "9/5/06," "COLAG1," and "Eb" in the lower margin.