Smith, Elder & Co. or Smith, Elder, and Co. or Smith, Elder and Co. was a British publishing company which was most noted for the works it published in the 19th century. It was purchased by John Murray in the early 1900s, its archive now kept as part of the John Murray Archive at the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

in Edinburgh, Scotland.

History

The firm was founded by George Smith (1789–1846) and Alexander Elder (1790–1876) and successfully continued by George Murray Smith (1824–1901). They are known to have published as early as 1826. They are notable for producing the first edition of the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (''DNB''). The firm achieved its first major success with the publication of Charlotte Brontë's '' Jane Eyre'' in 1847, under the pseudonym of "Currer Bell". Other major authors published by the firm included

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

, George Eliot,

Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many st ...

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

, Richard Jefferies, George MacDonald,

Charles Reade Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for '' The Cloister and the Hearth''. Life Charles Reade was born at Ipsden, Oxfordshire, to John Reade and Anne Marie Scott-Waring, and had at leas ...

, John Ruskin,

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...

, Alfred Tennyson and George Gissing. In addition, beginning in 1841, they published ''The London and Edinburgh Magazine''. Beginning in 1859, they published '' Cornhill Magazine''. In 1909 the firm was being run by Reginald Smith.'' The Illustrated London News'', Volume: 134 , Issue: 3656, May 15, 1909, p. 18.

Works published

* ''

The Comic Offering ''The Comic Offering, or Ladies' melange of literary mirth'' is a literary annual consisting of five volumes from 1831 to 1835 edited by Louisa Henrietta Sheridan Louisa Henrietta Sheridan (1810 – 2 October 1841) was an English English us ...

'' volumes one through five by

Louisa Henrietta Sheridan Louisa Henrietta Sheridan (1810 – 2 October 1841) was an English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective ...

, 1831–1835 * '' Friendship's Offering'', 1837 * '' Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa'' by Andrew Smith, 1838–50 *''

Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle ''The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Under the Command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the Years 1832 to 1836'' is a 5-part book published unbound in nineteen numbers as they were ready, between February 1838 and October 1843. It was writ ...

'' by Charles Darwin, 1838–43 * '' Modern Painters'' by John Ruskin, 1843 * '' Jane Eyre'' by Charlotte Brontë, 1847 * '' The King of the Golden River'' by John Ruskin, 1851 * '' The History of Henry Esmond'' by William Makepeace Thackeray, 1852 * '' The Professor'' by Charlotte Brontë, 1854 * '' The Ring and the Book'' by

, 1868–69 * '' The Mayor of Casterbridge'' by

, 1886 * '' The Great Boer War'' by

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

, 1900 * '' The Riddle of the Sands'' by Erskine Childers, 1903 * '' Morocco in Diplomacy'' by

Edmund Dene Morel Edmund Dene Morel (born Georges Edmond Pierre Achille Morel Deville; 10 July 1873 – 12 November 1924) was a French-born British journalist, author, pacifist and politician. As a young official at the shipping company Elder Dempster, Morel ob ...

, 1912 * '' Jane Austen: Her Life and Letters, A Family Record'' by William and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh, 1913 * '' The Adventures Of Philip'' by William Makepeace Thackeray, 1899

Book series

* Illustrated Editions of Popular Works * Popular Library

References

External links

*
The House of Smith Elder
' by Leonard Huxley (London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1923) at the Internet Archive Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Defunct companies based in London 1839 establishments in England Magazine publishing companies of the United Kingdom {{publish-company-stub

History

Works published

Book series

References

Further reading

External links