An oval bust-length portrait of an elderly French Catholic cleric fills this albumen CDV, made by Pierre-Louis Pierson at his renowned Paris studio on the Boulevard des Capucines. The recto imprint reads "L. Pierson, Phot." with the printed lines "Déposé" and "Garanti d'après nature" ("Registered" and "Guaranteed from nature"), while the verso carries the imperial crowned coat of arms above the Pierson studio imprint. The "Seul Propriétaire de la Maison Mayer & Pierson" designation printed on the reverse dates this card to the period between 1865 and 1873, when Pierson held sole ownership of the firm.

The subject is presented from the chest upward against a plain vignette ground, his broad clerical collar with white piping worn over a dark cassock fastened with small buttons. His hair is white and notably full with tight, pronounced curls at the sides; his expression is composed and direct, with a slightly upward gaze that conveys authority and experience. The flowing neck-tie or rabat falls in pointed tabs below the collar.

The Mayer & Pierson studio held the favor of Napoleon III and at the peak of its prominence attracted sitters ranging from the imperial court and aristocracy to prominent public figures of all kinds. Starting in 1862, their clientele became more varied, and by 1866 included people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, making clerical portraits of this quality a natural part of the studio's later output.

The reverse bears a cursive ink inscription reading "Mr. Dequeny," identifying the sitter. Printed studio text on the verso reads: "Les Clichés étant conserves Indéfiniment, on peut toujours se procurer de nouvelles épreuves de Cartes & Portraits sans reposer. Il est possible, avec les Clichés de Cartes, de faire des portraits agrandis de toutes dimensions." (The negatives being kept indefinitely, one can always obtain new prints of cards and portraits without reposing. It is possible, with the card negatives, to make enlarged portraits of all dimensions.)