A middle-aged woman, seated and facing the camera with a composed expression, is the subject of this sixth plate daguerreotype produced by John A. Keenan at 248 South Second Street, Philadelphia, placing the image firmly between 1852 and 1857. Keenan was among the more established daguerreotypists working in antebellum Philadelphia, active at multiple South Second Street addresses from the late 1840s through 1860, and is noted in the historical record as a likely early mentor to William Bell, who later became a significant photographer in his own right.

The subject wears a dark dress with dramatically puffed sleeves and a heavily patterned lace or floral-embroidered bodice, with a white lace collar at the throat. Her dark hair is pulled back beneath a delicate net or snood, and she holds what appears to be a small book in her right hand while her left rests on a folded white cloth, possibly a handkerchief, atop a draped surface beside her.

The image is presented in a gilt oval mat within a leather case embossed with a floral spray motif on the exterior; the interior pad is red velvet stamped with the photographer's imprint reading "Keenan / 248 South Second St. / Philada."

Property of a Palmer, Massachusetts gentleman.