Smith, Elder & Co.
| Status | Defunct |
|---|---|
| Founder | George Smith and Alexander Elder |
| Successor | John Murray |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | London[1][2] |
| Publication types | Books, magazines |
Smith, Elder & Co. or Smith, Elder, and Co.[1] or Smith, Elder and Co.[2][3] was a firm of British publishers who were most noted for the works they published in the 19th century.
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 1839.[2]
They are notable for producing the first edition of the Dictionary of National Biography (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, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, Richard Jefferies, George MacDonald, Charles Reade, John Ruskin, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Alfred Tennyson and George Gissing.[4]
In addition, beginning in 1841, they published The London and Edinburgh Magazine. Beginning in 1859, they published Cornhill Magazine.[1]
Works published by Smith, Elder & Co.
- The Comic Offering volumes one through five by Louisa Henrietta Sheridan, 1831–1835
- Friendship's Offering, 1837
- Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa by Andrew Smith, 1838–50
- Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin, 1838
- Modern Painters by John Ruskin, 1843
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, 1847
- The History of Henry Esmond by William Makepeace Thackeray, 1852
- The Ring and the Book by Robert Browning, 1868–69
- The Great Boer War by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Morocco in Diplomacy by Edmund Dene Morel, 1912
- Jane Austen: Her Life and Letters, A Family Record by William and Richard Arthur Austen-Leigh, 1913
References
- 1 2 3 "Business Correspondence of Smith, Elder, and Co., 1850–1908: Finding Aid". Princeton University Library. 2008. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
Abstract. Consists, for the most part, of business correspondence of George Smith relating to the Cornhill Magazine, which he founded in 1859, and other publishing business of Smith, Elder, and Co., the London publishing firm.
- 1 2 3 Forbes, Alexander (1839). California: A History of Upper and Lower California. Cornhill, London: Smith, Elder and Co.
- ↑ Steve King. "Charlotte Bronte. Charlotte Bronte as "Currer Bell"". Today in Literature. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
Smith, Elder and Co. took the risk on passages like that, and Jane Eyre was an immediate and controversial hit.
- ↑ "George Murray Smith (1824–1901)". oxforddnb.com. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
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