Waves clashed with rocks along the Cape Elizabeth shore, with Portland Head Light in the distance. A spray of great height crashed on the left, a natural display of oceanic might that, paired with the steadfast structure of the lighthouse on the upper right, framed the coastline suspensefully. Completed by 1791, Maine’s first lighthouse and its dramatic setting had long made it an appealing subject for photography.

Portland civil engineer William S. Edwards compiled an album that included this photograph. Charles Edwards, Edwards' cousin and a fellow engineer, worked on restorations to Portland Head Light. Edwards titled this image "Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth. August 19, 1887."