A seated portrait of a woman identified on the reverse as "Mme Leroy, Maîtresse d'Urbain" (Madame Leroy, Mistress of Urbain) was produced as a carte-de-visite by E. Appert at his Paris studio, 24 rue Taitbout. The studio's reverse imprint places this photograph between 1868 and 1890, the years Appert operated at that address. The Appert brothers specialized in portrait photography of political figures of all persuasions, including sovereigns, nobles, deputies, senators, and magistrates.

The subject is shown seated at a three-quarter angle, wearing a fitted dark dress with a structured bodice, decorative front button detail, a belted waist, and striped sleeve cuffs. A narrow white collar is visible at the neckline beneath a small dark bow, and she wears drop earrings. Her dark hair is drawn back tightly with small ornamental pins at the temples, and her gaze is direct and composed.

Appert developed a stripped-down portrait style, placing his sitter against a plain background without decorative props, a hallmark approach he applied consistently across his clientele. He held accreditation to the Tribunal de la Seine and carried the title "Photographe du Corps Législatif," both of which appear on the reverse imprint, reflecting his standing as one of Second Empire Paris's most officially connected studio photographers.

The reverse bears a pencil inscription reading "M me Leroy / Maîtresse d'Urbain" (Madame Leroy, Mistress of Urbain) above the printed studio imprint for E. Appert, Peintre Photographe, 24 Rue Taitbout, Paris.