Vallée opened a studio in 1867 along the vibrant Rue Saint-Jean in the upper town of Quebec City. He specialized in stereographs and views of the city, its architecture, and monuments. He published his Catalogue of Photographic Views of Quebec and Vicinities around 1878, listing the subjects of his photographs for potential clients and guiding visitors to places of interest. Vallée purchased negatives from George William Ellisson when Ellisson & Co. studio closed in 1879. Vallée catered to the city’s upper class and tourists, and he was in competition with the Livernois Studio. His business declined in the 1890s and closed in 1901.

Image: Louis-Prudent Vallée, Le Château Frontenac vu du parc Montmorency, Québec, c.1890, albumen silver print, 17.6 x 22.6 cm, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Quebec City.

For further reading, see:

Lessard, Michel. The Livernois Photographers. Quebec: Musée du Quebec, 1987, 67, 120, 130.

Lessard, Michel. “Louis-Prudent Vallée.” In Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Toronto and Laval: University of Toronto / Université Laval, 1994, 13. www.biographi.ca/en/bio/vallee_louis_prudent_13E.html.