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Private company

Smith, Elder & Co.

British book publisher

Smith, Elder & Co., alternatively 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 in Edinburgh, Scotland.2 It was founded by Alexander Elder and George Smith.1 It ceased to exist in 1917.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1816Founded1
  • HeadquartersLondon1

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Smith Elder Waterloo Place
Photo: Philip Norman (1832-1941), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Smith, Elder & Co., alternatively 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 in Edinburgh, Scotland.2

The story

Founded by Alexander Elder and George Smith in 1816.1

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 (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.

In addition, beginning in 1841, they published The London and Edinburgh Magazine. Beginning in 1859, they published The Cornhill Magazine.

In 1909 the firm was being run by Reginald Smith.

From Wikipedia’s article on Smith, Elder & Co., shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Leadership

Who has led Smith, Elder & Co., and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded by John Murray1

Timeline

  1. 1917Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1816Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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