A close-up bust portrait of Paschal Grousset, the radical journalist, Paris Commune elected member, and later Socialist deputy, fills this albumen carte de visite produced at the Thiébault studio, 31 Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, Paris. The imprint on the recto reads "THIÉBAULT, Bd BONNE NOUVELLE, 31," while the verso identifies the studio in full as "Photographie Thiébault, Bacard Fils, Gendre et Successeur," placing the photograph in the period after Paul Bacard took over the studio from his father-in-law Eugène Thiébault in 1868.

Grousset is photographed in a three-quarter view against a plain, vignette-faded ground, his dark curly hair center-parted and swept back. A full beard frames his face, and a dramatically waxed and upswept mustache draws immediate attention. He wears a soft tweed or woolen jacket over a white shirt with a wide spread collar and a large dark silk cravat tied loosely at the throat, conveying the air of a politically engaged man of letters rather than a formal sitter.

Born on April 7, 1844, in Corte, Corsica, Grousset was a French politician, journalist, translator, and science fiction writer. He was elected a member of the Paris Commune, becoming a member of its executive committee and Delegate for External Affairs. After the fall of the Commune he was arrested, deported to New Caledonia in 1872, escaped, and subsequently lived in Sydney, San Francisco, New York City, and London. He returned to France after the 1880 amnesty and, in 1893, became a Socialist Deputy for the 12th arrondissement of Paris.

The reverse is inscribed in ink in a period hand: "Paschal Grousset." The studio imprint on the reverse reads "Photographie Thiébault / 31 Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, 31 / en face le Théâtre du Gymnase / Bacard Fils / Gendre & Successeur" (Photography Thiébault / 31 Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, 31 / opposite the Théâtre du Gymnase / Bacard Fils / Son-in-law and Successor).