Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin and one of the most influential American writers of the nineteenth century, is depicted in this albumen carte de visite presented as an oval vignette. No photographer's imprint is visible on the reverse, and the mount is blank. The image corresponds to a known CDV type of Stowe documented in other collections.

The subject is shown in a bust-length three-quarter pose, her gaze directed slightly left of frame with a composed expression. She wears a dark silk or satin wrap with ruffled trim along the lapels, tied at the center with a small bow, over a white high-collared blouse secured at the throat with a round brooch. Her hair is light and curly, worn long at the sides with small ornamental pins visible near the crown.

Stowe published Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852, a work credited with galvanizing Northern antislavery sentiment in the years preceding the Civil War. She remained a prominent public figure through the 1870s and 1880s, and CDV portraits of her were widely circulated during this period. A pencil notation reading "T" appears at the top edge of the mount recto.