A photograph of a drawing published as a CDV by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, issued in 1871 in direct response to the Paris Commune. The image reproduces a caricature-style illustration rather than a live photographic subject, a deliberate editorial choice that allowed the company to circulate political commentary in the popular carte-de-visite format. The London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, founded in 1854, was one of the dominant British photographic publishers of the nineteenth century, and its royal warrant, cited on the reverse as photographer to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, confirms the card dates to the period when both appointments were active.

The illustration depicts a ragged, heavily armed Communard fighter standing before a barricade strewn with cannon and broken timber. The figure wears a battered kepi, epaulettes, and a tattered military coat belted at the waist, and carries a sword and rifle. Behind him, a placard mounted on a pole bears the legend "Fraternité ou La Mort" (Fraternity or Death), the revolutionary slogan associated with radical Commune factions. The printed caption across the lower mount reads in red type: "A Montmartre 'Red' of 1871. Who thirsts for somebody's blood and is not particular whose. A Prussian dose is recommended for this malignant form of Scarlet Fever." The text below that identifies the publisher as "Stereoscopic Co." followed by "Copyright."

The revolutionary spirit of Montmartre sparked one of the most deadly and bitter conflicts in the history of Paris when the Paris Commune rose in the spring of 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War. The CDV's caption reflects the hostile British press view of the Communards, framing their insurrection as a disease cured by Prussian military force, a sardonic commentary widely circulated in London publishing in the months immediately following the Commune's violent suppression in May 1871.

The reverse bears the full green-printed imprint of the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company at 110 and 108 Regent Street and 54 Cheapside, with the royal arms and the notation "Sole Photographers to the International Exhibition 1862." A further line reads: "This negative is preserved for further copies. Enlargements can at any time be produced without another sitting."