Elliott & Fry Facts for Kids

Elliott & Fry
The reverse of a carte de visite by Elliott & Fry
Formation	1863; 162 years ago (1863)
Dissolved	1962; 63 years ago (1962)
Purpose	Photography studio
Location	55 & 56 Baker Street, London
Key people	Joseph John Elliott Clarence Edmund Fry

Elliott & Fry was a very famous photography studio in London that started way back in 1863. It was founded by two friends, Joseph John Elliott and Clarence Edmund Fry. For about 100 years, this studio was known for taking amazing pictures of everyday people. They also photographed many important and famous figures. These included artists, scientists, and politicians from the Victorian era (a time when Queen Victoria ruled Britain).

A Famous Photography Studio
The Founders
- Joseph John Elliott
- Clarence Edmund Fry
Gallery

A Famous Photography Studio

Elliott & Fry began their journey in 1863. Their first studio was at 55 & 56 Baker Street in London. They stayed at this location until 1919.

By the 1880s, the company had grown quite a lot. They ran three different photography studios. They also had four large storage places for their photo negatives. Negatives are the original film or glass plates from which photos are printed. They even had a special printing workshop in Barnet.

Over the years, many talented photographers worked for Elliott & Fry. Some of these included Francis Henry Hart and Alfred James Philpott. Later, in the 1920s and 1930s, Herbert Lambert and Walter Benington were among their photographers. William Flowers also worked there.

During World War II, the studio was sadly bombed. Because of this, most of their very old photo negatives were lost. Today, the National Portrait Gallery in London keeps all the negatives that survived.

In 1963, the studio reached its 100th year. Around this time, another photography company, Bassano & Vandyk, took over Elliott & Fry.

The Founders

Joseph John Elliott

Joseph John Elliott was born on October 14, 1835, in Croydon. He passed away on March 30, 1903.

In 1864, Joseph married Elizabeth Lucy Fry in Brighton. Elizabeth was the sister of his business partner, Clarence Edmund Fry. Joseph and Elizabeth had seven children together: four sons and three daughters.

Joseph's business partnership with Clarence Fry ended on July 31, 1887. Joseph then took over Clarence's part of the business. Later, Joseph also had a partnership with his own son, Ernest C. Elliott. This partnership ended on December 31, 1892. Ernest later put together a book of photos called Fifty Leaders of British Sport, which came out in 1904.

Clarence Edmund Fry

Clarence Edmund Fry was born in Plymouth in 1840 and died in 1897. In 1865, he married Sophia Dunkin Prideaux. Sophia was an artist who added color to photographs.

Clarence Fry was an early supporter of an artist named Hubert von Herkomer. In 1873, Herkomer moved to Bushey to be closer to Clarence. He also started the Herkomer Art School there.

Clarence was the oldest son of Edmund Fry and Caroline Mary Clarence. His parents were members of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. His family was also related to Joseph Storrs Fry, who founded a famous chocolate factory in Bristol.

Clarence had several brothers and sisters:

Walter Henry Fry (born 1841)
Hubert Oswald Fry (born 1843)
Lucy Elizabeth Laughton Fry (born 1844)
Allen Hastings Fry (born 1847)

In 1867, two of Clarence's younger brothers, Walter Henry Fry and Allen Hastings Fry, started their own photography business. It was called W. & A. H. Fry and was located in Brighton.