Carte-de-visite of Sayles Jenks Bowen in half bust portrait. Bowen's body faces to the camera, but his head is a quarter turn to his right and he looks off camera. His hair is parted on his left side and smoothed down and he has a full beard. His cheeks are tinted pink. He wears a dark jacket and vest, dark bowtie, and white shirt. The bottom portion of the image is purposefully faded in the popular style of the time.