A young child reclines against a tufted floral chaise longue in this albumen carte-de-visite produced by Pierre Petit at his studio on Place Cadet in Paris, circa 1880. The child clutches a jointed puppet or marionette figure with visible articulated limbs and a ruffled costume, holding it across the torso with both hands. Petit was among the most prominent French portrait photographers of the nineteenth century, operating a celebrated studio at 27-29-31 Place Cadet and earning wide recognition for his bourgeois and aristocratic clientele.

The child wears a light-colored short-sleeved dress with ruffled shoulder detail and a bow at the neckline, with bare legs and feet visible below the hem. The chaise features button-tufted upholstery with a floral pattern, fringe trim along the base, and a carved or upholstered armrest against which the child leans. The expression is wide-eyed and slightly parted at the mouth, directed away from the lens.

The reverse bears penciled notations including "#35," a partial numeral, and a cataloging inscription reading "me 1880 11/18/06 LDGHZ" in ink at the lower left.