CDV bust portrait of American author Mark Twain by Gurney & Son, Fifth Avenue, New York, presents the author in one of the most recognizable photographic types made of him during his peak years of fame in the 1870s. Twain appears in a dark suit jacket with a large black bow tie, his thick dark hair swept back from his forehead and his prominent mustache neatly groomed, his gaze directed slightly off-camera with a characteristic self-possessed expression. The image is mounted on a plain albumen card with the Gurney imprint at the lower front border.

The bust-length framing places full emphasis on Twain's face and collar, the contrast between his dark jacket and white shirt creating a strong tonal composition. The reverse bears a penciled inscription reading "Mark Twain" and tape remnants from prior mounting, along with the Gurney studio imprint and dealer notation "2/06/12 / LCABODZ."

Mark Twain (1835–1910), born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was the defining voice of American vernacular literature, author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Innocents Abroad, and Life on the Mississippi. His lectures and public appearances made him one of the most photographed American writers of the nineteenth century.