A tinted stereo ambrotype portrait by Charles F. Ravis of 32 Park Street, Bristol, inscribed on the reverse with the date 16 March 1857. Ravis worked as a photographer for only a few years, and identified examples from his gallery are seldom encountered.

A woman stands in three-quarter view, turned toward the camera, in a dark bonnet lined with a white frilled cap, a white lace collar, and a long dark mantle. Her hand rests on a fur laid across a white fluted pedestal, with striped drapery hanging at the right. Her face is tinted in flesh tones. The pair sits in a black passe-partout mount with gilt arched borders.

Ravis, born in London in 1815 to a Quaker family, taught at Friends' schools before entering the optical trade. He opened a photographic gallery in Bristol by 1856, also acting as agent for the London microscope makers Smith & Beck, and had left the business by 1861. The inscription's numbered month follows the plain dating used by Friends.

Reverse with printed label: "CHARLES F. RAVIS, OPTICIAN & PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTIST, Agent for Smith & Beck, London, Manufacturers of Achromatic Microscopes, &c. 32, PARK STREET, BRISTOL." Ink inscription: "C. Smith, 3 mo. 16. 1857, from E.R."