Lovejoy & Foster

American, active 1870s

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Lovejoy & Foster, a Chicago partnership of Edward Lovejoy and Henry C. Foster, began advertising their wholesale and retail dealership of stereoscopes, views and albums by February, 1871.In June and July of that year they ran a series of ads in Madison, Wisconsin. By the end of the year, they were publishing stereoscopic views of Chicago scenery, and offered views across America and abroad, as well as cabinet card portraits of celebrities. A move from 87 Clark Street to 309 West Randolph Street coincides with the great fire of October 10, 1871. They began offering "Artistic Ruins" views from negatives by George N. Barnard, and "Combination Views" with before and after images of the destruction mounted together. In April, 1872 they offered detailed views of the moon's surface. They moved their shop again in May, 1872 to 335 West Madison Street, and in October, 1873 to 88 State Street. When Nellie Grant, daughter of the President, married Charles Frederick Sartoris at the White House in May of 1874, Lovejoy & Foster claimed to have the only negative of the groom (possibly by Copelin & Son), and their image was widely reproduced.In February, 1878, Edward Lovejoy was narrowly missed by a stray bullet when a young boy, playing in a neighboring gun shop fired into the studio through the wall.The firm was, by this time, advertising frames and albums more prominantly than photographs, and a notice was published February 1, 1879 that the partnership was dissolved and would be continued by Lovejoy, alone. Foster joined Charles Pollock as manager of his Chicago outpost, where they were agents for Mora's celebrity portraits.