Wet plate collodion daguerreotype of a courtesan, reclining languidly on a threadbare velvet divan, in a dilapidated New Orleans bordello, 1880, wearing a torn corset and a single stocking, hazy half-light from a gas lamp, cigarette smoke curling in the air, cracked and peeling floral wallpaper, an empty absinthe glass on the floor, a tarnished silver hand mirror, profound melancholic atmosphere, deep shadows, grainy texture, subtle chemical stains on the image, oval gilt frame.