An unidentified woman poses beside a negative retouching stand on a draped table in this albumen carte-de-visite, dating to the 1870s based on her dress silhouette and the mount's clipped-corner format. She leans her right hand against an open hinged case displaying a framed portrait set on an easel stand, suggesting she worked as a photograph colorist or tinter. No photographer's imprint appears on the reverse.

Her dark fitted bodice features a high neck with a bow at the throat, lace-trimmed cuffs, and a tiered overskirt with a fringed hem at the knee. She holds a small implement, likely a brush or stylus, in her lap, and drop earrings are visible at her jaw. The table beside her is covered in a heavily textured brocade cloth, and a painted architectural backdrop fills the upper left corner.

The retouching frame displays what appears to be a portrait photograph negative, consistent with the period practice of retouching photographic portrait negatives, a trade performed by both professional studios and independent colorists throughout the 1860s and 1880s.

The reverse is unmarked with no photographer's imprint, inscription, or studio information.