5 1/2 x 3 in. stereoview on cardstock mount (each albumen print partially separated from mount; light wear and soiling to mount). Applied paper caption and publisher/vendor's label on verso.

An African American dandy wearing boldly checked and striped pants, frock coat, and a large top hat is shown having his shoes shined by a young, white boy. Featured prominently behind the child is a wall of handbills and broadsides, incl. promotions for plays at the Adelphi Theatre, possibly in New York, most notably The White Slave (Bartley T. Campbell, 1882), and The Octoroon (Dion Boucicault, 1859). Smaller broadsides are also featured with large, bold headlines that read, "No Slavery," "Freedom," "Negro Emancipation," and "Poor Slaves." 

Another broadside illustrates a ship from the Clyde Steamship Company, suggesting that the scene depicted here was taken in New York City, a hub of the Clyde steamship line which began in 1874.