Che-Mah, billed as "The Chinese Dwarf," is depicted in this albumen CDV produced by Charles Eisenmann at his studio at 229 Bowery, New York, the preeminent photographer of sideshow and circus performers during the latter decades of the nineteenth century. The subject's name and billing appear in gilt lettering along the lower mount border, a presentation typical of Eisenmann's promotional carte series issued for dime museum and circus attractions of the period. Che-Mah toured extensively across the United States and Europe and was among the most widely publicized novelty performers of the 1880s and 1890s.

Che-Mah stands before a tufted parlor chair and an ornate painted backdrop featuring a carved cabinet and arched architectural detail, studio props consistent with Eisenmann's known interior arrangements. He wears a dark silk robe over a light embroidered undergarment, a flat-topped Chinese-style cap, and holds a decorative pouch suspended from a beaded cord. His expression is composed and direct.

The reverse bears the full printed imprint of Chas. Eisenmann, Photographer, 229 Bowery, New York, with the notation "Portraits taken by Instantaneous Process" and "Extra inducements to the Theatrical Profession." A penciled notation in the upper left reads "44 / FH" with an additional numeral, and "Che Miah" is written in purple ink across the top.

From the collection of James Lee Soffer