Napoleon III stands at the grounds of Schloss Wilhelmshöhe in this albumen CDV by Parisian photographer Emmanuel Flamant, almost certainly made during the emperor's captivity there between September 1870 and March 1871. The image is identified on the mount's verso as a published title, placing it among Flamant's documented series of Napoleon III subjects produced in the final years of the Second Empire and its immediate aftermath. Two men in dark civilian frock coats converse in the middle ground, one holding a walking stick, while Prussian soldiers in spiked helmets stand at attention to the left and a group of uniformed figures occupies a bench at far right. The two-story neoclassical facade of the château rises through leafless trees in the background, with a figure visible on the terrace.

The Battle of Sedan on September 1, 1870, was a decisive defeat for the French army during the Franco-German War, resulting in the capture of Napoleon III and the fall of the Second French Empire. On September 5, the emperor was moved to Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, near Kassel, where he was imprisoned until March 19, 1871. Seven months later the Prussians allowed him to depart for England, where he remained in exile for the rest of his days. Flamant, a former operator for Count Olympe Aguado, produced photomontage CDVs of Napoleon III from Paris, including works issued at the time of the emperor's death in 1873.

The reverse is inscribed in pencil: "titled 'Napoleon III, Prisoner a Wilhelmshoehe,' where Napoleon III was lodged after his capture at the Battle of Sedan in 1871 / Photographer E. Flamant." Additional notations read "2/26/07," "LOBCAZ," and "Eb." The mount's left edge carries the printed title "E. Flamant / NAPOLÉON III / 1.r Brongnart / Prisonnier à Wilhelmshoehe" (E. Flamant / Napoleon III / 1 rue Brongniart / Prisoner at Wilhelmshöhe).