An unusual view of the back of a woman displaying exceptionally long hair falling well past her waist is portrayed in this gem tintype set into an embossed oval window on a CDV-format paper mount, produced at Lothrop's Ferrotype Gallery, 43 North Eighth Street, Philadelphia, circa 1863 to 1875. The diminutive ferrotype is mounted on the front of the paper carrier with the embossed decorative surround framing the oval image, and a printed paper label affixed to the reverse identifies the studio. A penciled notation "37" appears at the top of the reverse.

The subject stands in a three-quarter or full-length pose wearing a light-colored dress, her dark hair unbound and cascading in long waves from crown to well below the waist; she holds a small object, possibly a book or flower, at her midsection. The image is characteristically dark in tone, as is common with gem tintypes of the period.

The studio label on the reverse advertises that only the finest ferrotypes were made at the gallery and that all work was finished in ten minutes, reflecting the rapid processing that made the ferrotype format popular for walk-in portrait trade. Gem tintypes mounted in paper CDV carriers were a common and affordable alternative to albumen carte-de-visite portraits during the 1860s and 1870s.