Two unidentified policemen posed in matching dress uniforms sit side by side in this sixth-plate ambrotype,. It is housed in its original full leather case with ornate embossed covers and a gilt brass mat with scalloped window. The applied color on the brass buttons and cap badges, a standard practice in ambrotype portraiture of the late 1850s and early 1860s, picks out the insignia on both uniforms with warm gold highlights against the dark collodion image.

Both men wear identical single-breasted frock coats with double rows of gilt buttons down the front, high standing collars, and dark policemen's dress caps with visible front badges and what appears to be a number or insignia on each cap front. They sit with hands folded in their laps and face the camera with composed, direct expressions. A small book rests at the elbow of the man at left.

The case is a full sixth-plate size with heavily embossed dark leather covers in a geometric and foliate pattern centered on a circular medallion with scrollwork on both front and back panels. The interior retains its velvet pad opposite the image. No photographer's imprint is visible on the mat or case.