A male circus acrobat poses in profile atop a large star-patterned ball in this albumen carte-de-visite produced by W.S. Laroche, operating from 58 Calthorpe Place, Islington Row, Birmingham, with a royal warrant designating the studio as patronized by the Queen. W.S. Laroche, identified fully as William Silvester Laroche, was based at 58 Calthorpe Place, Islington Row, Birmingham, and was active under that name in 1866. The subject's lean, muscular build and performer's costume are consistent with professional circus portraiture of the mid-to-late 1860s.

The performer stands with arms folded tightly across his chest, feet planted on a large prop ball decorated with a repeating pattern of five-pointed stars. He wears a light-colored short-sleeved leotard, brief shorts, and tights, with close-cropped dark hair and a slight mustache. A heavy draped fabric backdrop falls to his left, while a plain studio ground supports the ball and two flat wooden boards visible at the lower right edge of the frame.

The red-ruled card mount frames the image on all four sides, with the photographer's imprint printed in the lower left corner of the recto in capital letters. The use of a star-decorated globe as a studio prop, combined with the crossed-arm pose, points to a performer specializing in equilibristic or globe-rolling acts, a discipline popular on the Victorian variety and circus circuit during this period.

Verso bears a printed red royal-arms device above the studio imprint reading "Patronized by the Queen / W.S. Laroche / From London / 58 Calthorpe Place / Islington Row / Birmingham." A pencil notation in the upper left reads "1x," and a cursive inscription in the lower portion reads "collection / Joseph Thibault," accompanied by a small asterisk mark.