Carte de visite portrait of a anunusual family group. Little person Madam Shaw is posed with her husband with his exceptionally long beard posed and their daughter Minnie. Her husband's beard extends dramatically downward across the sitter’s lap, emphasizing the unusual feature that likely made the subject a curiosity exhibition figure.

The composition includes decorative studio columns and patterned backdrop typical of late nineteenth-century portrait studios. No printed identification for the sitter is visible on the mount.

CDV format photograph. Reverse printing reads “Madam Shaw, Age 42 Years; Height, 27½ Inches; Weight, 32 lbs., and her daughter Minnie, Born June 23, 1869. Made at J. Frank Smith’s Parlor Art Gallery, Fairfield, Ill.” Mount trimmed slightly top and bottom for insertion into an album.