Paschal Grousset, born 7 April 1844 in Corte, Corsica, and active throughout the turbulent decades of the French Second Empire and Third Republic, was a journalist, politician, and writer of considerable range. This vintage albumen CDV presents a bust-length portrait of him, photographed in the French carte-de-visite format popular in the 1860s and 1870s, consistent with the period of his most intense political activity. No photographer's imprint is visible.

The subject is shown in three-quarter view against a plain light ground, wearing a dark jacket and loosely knotted cravat over a white collar. He wears a full, dark beard trimmed to a point and a prominent upswept mustache, with thick, wavy dark hair swept back from his forehead. His expression is composed and direct, projecting the confidence of a public figure accustomed to scrutiny.

Elected on 26 March 1871 as a member of the Commune representing the Butte Montmartre, Grousset was named Delegate for Foreign Relations. After the suppression of the Commune during the Bloody Week, he was deported to the penal colony of New Caledonia, from which he escaped two years later, in 1874. He later published adventure and educational novels under the pseudonym André Laurie with publisher Hetzel, and two of his manuscripts, purchased by Hetzel, were rewritten by Jules Verne as "Les 500 millions de la Bégum" and "L'Étoile du Sud."

The facing page bears a handwritten identification record inscribed: "Grousset / Paschal / 27 à 28 ans / taille ordinaire / cheveux noirs / yeux noirs / teint coloré" (Grousset / Paschal / 27 to 28 years of age / ordinary height / black hair / dark eyes / ruddy complexion), placing the photograph circa 1871 to 1872.