The Pont de Sèvres and its destroyed arch were documented as part of the photographic record of the Siege and Commune of Paris, 1870-1871. This stereoview captures the bridge's ruined central span in sharp, unsettling detail, published by A.V., Paris, as part of their "Siège de Paris 1870-1871" series. The image belongs to the broader wartime documentation effort in which, as the siege and the fighting between Versaillais and Communards provoked the destruction of emblematic Parisian structures, and the ruins were extensively photographed before the Third Republic rapidly erased the traces of that destruction.

The stereopair shows the stone bridge spanning a calm river, with a central arch collapsed and reduced to a jagged heap of masonry that juts into the water below. Two intact flanking arches frame the void, their ashlar coursework clearly legible. A temporary wooden trestle walkway has been erected across the gap, supported by timber framing, and at least one figure is visible atop the bridge deck. The riverbanks on the near side show a narrow drainage channel running parallel to the water's edge, and wooded hills rise across the opposite bank in soft focus.

The Siege of Paris was undertaken by Germany following the defeat of Napoleon III, with the First and Third Prussian armies investing the capital from September 18, 1870. The deliberate destruction of bridges around Paris, including at Sèvres, was carried out by French forces to slow the Prussian advance and deny river crossings to the enemy. The yellow card mount carries the series title "Siège de Paris 1870-71" printed vertically on the right border and the publisher credit "A.V. Éditeur" on the left.

The reverse bears a printed label in a ruled border reading: "No. 17. SIÈGE DE PARIS 1870-1871. / Pont de Sèvres / Arche détruite." (No. 17. Siege of Paris 1870-1871. / Pont de Sèvres / Destroyed arch.)