An unidentified bearded man almost certainly the proprietor of Johnson's Art Gallery poses holding a small hand camera lens in this albumen carte-de-visite by Johnson's Art Gallery, Corner Main and Martin Streets, Abingdon, Illinois, dating to the mid-1860s based on the mount format and early studio setting. The deliberate centering of the camera lens as the sole prop, the confident and unsentimental gaze, and the matching catalog number shared with a companion lot in this sale together point to a self-portrait made by the studio's own photographer, a practice common among working photographers who used their own likenesses as demonstrations of their craft.

The man sits in three-quarter view, his full dark beard and level expression giving him an assured, intellectual bearing. He holds a small wooden box camera with a prominent brass lens barrel in both hands across his lap, the instrument clearly presented for the viewer's inspection. He wears a dark frock coat over a light waistcoat with a watch chain, a checked cravat, and light trousers. A draped table is visible at his left and the partial arc of a round framed oval appears in the upper right background.

The reverse bears the printed imprint of Johnson's Art Gallery, Cor. Main and Martin-Sts., Abingdon, Ill., Negatives Preserved, with the pencil notation "180" at the upper right, matching the companion portrait in this sale.