John Payson Soule (1828-1904) was a photographer and publisher based in Boston, Massachusetts, and, later, Seattle, Washington. According to the Boston Almanac, he maintained a studio at 199 Washington St. from 1861-1882. He learned photography from fellow Bostonian J.W. (James Wallace) Black, and later from Charles and Edward Bierstadt. In 1860, he accompanied the Bierstadts on one of their photography expeditions to New Hampshire's White Mountains and founded his own business, under the name John P. Soule, shortly after.

He began his career photographing Fort Sumpter and Fort Moultrie - Civil War military bases in South Carolina. He also reproduced images of famous artwork, including Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. He began producing stereoviews around 1875, frequently publishing images by others without credit to the original photographer. Given that a number of the views here are of Yosemite and Mendocino, it seems likely that they were taken by M.M. Hazeltine. Soule purchased a number of Hazeltine's negatives and copyrighted them in 1870, in addition to selling his own negatives to fellow publisher B.W. Kilburn.

In 1883, Soule sold his business to his brother, William Stinson Soule, who, with his business partner, began operating under the name Soule Photographic Company. In 1888, John P. Soule moved to Seattle, where he continued to photograph scenes such as the Seattle Fire of 1889, and to document the growth of the growth of the city until his death in 1904.

Information taken from:

"John P. Soule." Historic Camera. Accessed February 20, 2019. http://historiccamera.com/cgi-bin/librarium2/pm.cgi?action=app_display&app=datasheet&app_id=2400&.