John P. Soule

John Payson Soule (1828–1904) was a photographer[1] and publisher in Boston, Massachusetts, and Seattle, Washington.

Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall, Boston, by Soule, ca.1860s-1880s
Boston Directory, 1862

Biography

He was born in Phillips, Maine on October 19, 1828. His younger brother, William Stinson Soule, also became a photographer.[2]

J.P. Soule maintained photographic studios on Washington Street in Boston, ca.1861-1882.[3] As a photographer, his subjects in Boston included buildings, the 1869 National Peace Jubilee, the great fire of 1872, and carte-de-visite portraits. He also photographed mountains in New Hampshire, and the 1866 fire in Portland, Maine. He exhibited works in the Charitable Mechanic's exhibitions of 1850,[4] and 1874 (bronze medal).[5]

In addition to taking photographs, Soule published works by Martin M. Hazeltine and others. Crediting of photographer's original works followed rather murky standards. For instance, photographs "by John P. Soule" of natural scenery in California appeared in Samuel Kneeland's Wonders of Yosemite Valley, and of California (1871).[6] However, "the photographs ... credited to John P. Soule on the title page ... have recently been re-attributed to the photographer Martin Mason Hazeltine. Soule, a publisher of stereoviews, purchased many of Hazeltine's California negatives, copyrighted them in 1870, and began selling them in Boston."[7]

Soule joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts in 1865, and belonged to the Freemasons.[8][9]

After leaving Boston around 1882,[10] he traveled west again. "In 1888, John Soule moved to Seattle, where he continued to work as a photographer. Soule photographed the aftermath of the Seattle Fire of 1889 and the rebuilding thereafter. He continued to live in Seattle and occasionally taking photographs of the growing city until his death in 1904."[11]

References
  1. John P. Soule dead. Boston Daily Globe, Nov 28, 1904. p.1.
  2. "Wichita State University".
  3. Boston Directory, 1861; Boston Almanac, 1879. He is not listed in the 1883 Boston Almanac.
  4. MCMA exhibit. 1850.
  5. MCMA exhibit. 1874.
  6. Kneeland. The wonders of the Yosemite Valley, and of California. 1871.
  7. Kate Nearpass Ogden. God's Great Plow and the Scripture of Nature: Art and Geology at Yosemite. California History, Vol. 71, No. 1 (Spring, 1992), p.99.
  8. Roberts. History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, Now Called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888. 1901.
  9. The New England Freemason. 1874.
  10. "Soule Photograph Co. (successors to John P. Soule)." In: Harvard University catalogue. 1882.
  11. "University of Washington".
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