Arthur Allen was an agent for the Pimlico Copying Company. His portraits were taken at the premises of his father's confectionery business at 27 East Street, Southampton.
Arthur Allen was born in Southampton in 1853. His father was a master confectioner, and Arthur followed him into the business as his assistant. The 1871 Street Directory listed James Allen, confectioner at 27 East Street, with a private residence in Bevois Mount.
Arthur worked for the Pimlico Copying company in Southampton in the early 1870s, before he married in 1874 and moved away to become a master confectioner and manufacturer of sweets in Guildford.