Copelin & Melander

American, active 1860s-1870s

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Copelin & Melander was a partnership of Alexander J. Copelin and Lewis M. Melander. Both men had worked in John Carbutt's studio, and Carbutt sold it to them when he moved his studio in 1868. Copelin bought out Melander on October 1, 1871, and gifted it to his son Thomas, and the studio became Copelin & Son. Thomas Hine had been a photographer for the studios and had just returned with negatives from Yellowstone, Montana and Wyoming. On October 8, fire destroyed a vast section of Chicago, including Copelin's studio. An employee was able to rescue a significan amount of books and papers, but the losses were about $8,000. Because the transfer of ownership was incomplete, Copelin received only $1,500 in insurance. On Wednesday, October 11 Alexander Copelin entered a brief partnership with Hine to produce views Hine had taken of the destruction.