A three-quarter-length portrait of General Louis-Jules Trochu (1815–1896), rendered as an albumen-print carte de visite by Franck (François-Marie-Louis-Alexandre Gobinet de Villecholle) at his studio at 18, rue Vivienne, Paris. The reverse's award medallion display, citing gold and silver prizes from Paris (1867), Portugal (1852 and 1865), Rome (1867), and Athens (1864), helps date the card to the late 1860s, consistent with Trochu's rising prominence in the final years of the Second Empire.

Trochu stands in a confident three-quarter pose wearing a dark double-breasted tunic with heavy bullion epaulettes and gold-braided cuffs. A dense cluster of decorations covers his left breast, including at least two large star-shaped orders, two circular medals, and a cross, indicating a distinguished campaigning record. He holds a pair of white gloves loosely in his right hand, and a dress sword with a tassel hilt is visible at his left hip. His expression is composed and direct, framed by a prominent mustache and a trimmed imperial beard.

Trochu was a French general and veteran of both the Crimean and Italian Wars who, in the course of the Franco-Prussian War, was appointed military governor of Paris on 17 August 1870. At the first meeting of the new government on the night of 4 September 1870, he was proclaimed president without portfolio, and invested with almost dictatorial power during the Siege of Paris.

Inscribed in pencil on the reverse: "Gal. Trochu" ("General Trochu"). The reverse also bears a rubber stamp reading "Mde. Alph. Giroux, 43, Boul. des Capucines, Paris," indicating the card was retailed or distributed through that firm.