A Moscow coachman stands at full length in this albumen carte-de-visite, photographed by I. Monstein, whose studio operated on Bolshaya Morskaya Street at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt. The image dates to the 1870s or 1880s, consistent with the unadorned plain-paper reverse typical of Russian CDV production in that period. The subject is presented as a type study in occupational dress, a genre widely practiced in Russian studio photography of the era, in which craftsmen and tradesmen were photographed as representatives of their profession rather than as private individuals.

The sitter wears the distinctive full-length dark kaftan belted at the waist with a wide leather strap, the standard livery of the Moscow izvozchik (hired coachman), along with a flat-brimmed peaked cap with a small buckle at the front and a diagonal shoulder strap crossing his chest. His full, dense beard reaches his collar, and he stands with his right hand resting at his belt while his left hand hangs at his side, projecting the composed authority characteristic of such occupational portraits. The studio floor beneath him shows a parquet-patterned painted canvas mat.

Collectors such as the American explorer George Kennan assembled hundreds of cartes-de-visite documenting the diversity of the Russian Empire during the late 19th century, and Moscow coachmen in full kaftan dress were among the most recognizable working-class types recorded in this format. The izvozchik was a ubiquitous figure in imperial Moscow street life, and studio portraits of coachmen in occupational dress were sought both as ethnographic documents and as popular souvenir photographs for foreign visitors.

The reverse bears an oval blue ink studio stamp reading "И. Монштейн / на углу Большой Морской / ул. Невского 14–56" (I. Monstein / at the corner of Bolshaya Morskaya / Nevsky Street 14–56) and is inscribed in a period hand in ink: "coachman's dress in Moscow."