A hand-coloured photographic print of Captain James Robertson RN. The photograph has been over painted in watercolour. The sitter is an elderly gentleman seated in a brown chair with a top hat on the table next to him, which is covered in a red cloth. The sitter is wearing a long, black jacket, black trousers, and a white shirt. He is wearing the naval General Service medal of 1848 on his left breast with its blue and white striped ribbon and the profile of a head of Quen Victoria.

The mount is gold in colour with a rectangular miniature. The frame is gold in colour with a impressed pattern. The miniature is inside a leather case that is lined with dark red velvet. The outer surface of the case is covered in dark red leather with a decorative, embossed border and two decorative clasps.