This carte de visite depicts Albert Sands Southworth, seated in a studio interior and dressed in a dark frock coat, waistcoat, and high collar, posed in a relaxed three quarter length attitude with one arm resting on a draped support. The photograph is an albumen print on a standard CDV mount, likely dating to the early to mid 1860s based on format, mount style, and dress. The verso bears the printed circular studio mark of James Wallace Black, reading “J.W. Black, 173 Washington St., Boston,” firmly establishing authorship and location.

Southworth was one of the most important American photographers of the mid nineteenth century, best known as the senior partner in the celebrated Boston firm Southworth & Hawes, widely regarded as producing the finest daguerreotypes in the United States. His studio portraits, landscapes, and experimental images set technical and aesthetic standards that influenced American photography for decades. James Wallace Black, who produced this CDV, was himself a significant figure, remembered today for his early aerial photograph of Boston taken from a balloon in 1860 and for operating one of the city’s leading photographic studios during the Civil War era.

The card represents a rare instance of a major photographer being photographed by another major practitioner of the same generation. The clean, unadorned mount and restrained studio presentation place emphasis squarely on the sitter, underscoring Southworth’s stature as a serious professional rather than a commercial subject. The verso imprint is clear and legible, with no additional captions or identifications present, allowing the image and attribution to stand on their own.