An unidentified subject, seated and photographed at three-quarter length, is rendered in albumen print on a carte de visite mount by E. Appert of Paris. The portrait belongs to Appert's well-documented series of prison photographs made around the time of the Paris Commune of 1871, when the studio, accredited to the Tribunal de la Seine, photographed Communards incarcerated in Versailles. The recto carries Appert's embossed stamp reading "E. Appert, Phot. Expert. / Déposé," with the additional notice "Reproduction interdite" (Reproduction forbidden), indicating the image was formally registered and legally protected.

The subject wears a dark, loose-fitting front-buttoning jacket over a white collar, with arms folded and hands resting at the lower frame. The hair is short and swept back from the face, the expression composed and direct. The image is notably faded, with the pale albumen print set against a plain, open ground devoid of studio props or backdrop scenery.

Appert specialized as a portraitist of political figures of all persuasions, from sovereigns and nobles to deputies, senators, and magistrates, but it was his judicial work that defined his historical legacy. Sometimes cited as a forerunner of bertillonage, Appert photographed Communards held at Versailles and incorporated these individual portraits into propagandistic photomontages. The two Appert brothers shared the same initial and merged under the single business identity of E. Appert.

Recto mount imprint: "E. APPERT, Phot. Expert. / Déposé" with "Reproduction interdite." Verso printed imprint reads: "PHOTOGRAPHE DU CORPS LÉGISLATIF / MÉDAILLES D'ARGENT / 1853, 1855, 1859, 1867 / E. APPERT / PEINTRE PHOTOGRAPHE / DE S. M. LA REINE D'ESPAGNE / DE S.A.I. LE GRAND DUC CONSTANTIN / EXPERT PRÈS LE TRIBUNAL DE LA SEINE / 24, Rue Taitbout, 24, AU 1ER ÉTAGE / Ci-devant, 21, Rue Louis-le-Grand / PARIS / PHOTOGRAPHE DE LA MAGISTRATURE" (Photographer to the Legislative Body / Silver Medals / Painter-Photographer to H.M. the Queen of Spain and H.I.H. Grand Duke Constantine / Expert to the Seine Tribunal / Photographer to the Magistracy). Inscribed in pencil at upper reverse: "Suétens" (transcribed as written).