Elliot & Fry was a photography studio founded by Joseph John Elliot and Clarence Edmund Fry in 1863. As a photography studio in the Victorian era, their primary task was taking photographs that represented the era socially, culturally, scientifically, politically, and artistically. They had a photography studio at 55 Baker Street in London from 1865-1886 and then expanded their holdings to both 55 and 56 Baker Street from 1887-1908. 

According to footnote 1 on page 75 of The Romance of a Shop by Amy Levy, "...there were several concurrent photography establishments on Upper Baker and Baker Streets in the 1880s." This footnote is followed by the Lorimer sisters establishing their own photography studio at 20B Baker Street in London. As the novel is set in the 1880s, it can be inferred that, if the Lorimer sisters were not fictional, they would have been competing with Elliot & Fry at 55 and 56 Baker Street just down the road. This fictional scenario is a result of Amy Levy's attention to detail throughout The Romance of a Shop, ensuring that she was knowledgeable in the subject that she was writing about in order to create a story that was not only engaging but accurate.