John Murray (publishing house)

John Murray is a British publishing house, renowned for the roster of authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, and Charles Darwin.

History

The business was founded in London in 1768 by John Murray (1) (1745–1793), an Edinburgh-born Royal Marines officer, who built up a list of authors including Isaac Disraeli and published English Review.

John Murray the elder was one of the founding sponsors of the London evening newspaper The Star in 1788.

He was succeeded by his son, John Murray (2), who formed the publishing house into one of the most important and influential in Britain. He was a friend of many leading writers of the day and launched Quarterly Review in 1809. He was the publisher of Jane Austen, Sir Walter Scott, George Crabbe and many others. His home and office at 50 Albemarle Street in Mayfair was the centre of a literary circle, fostered by Murray's tradition of "Four o'clock friends", afternoon tea with his writers.

Murray's most notable author was Lord Byron, who became a close friend and correspondent of his. Murray published many of his major works, paying him over £20,000 in rights. On 10 March 1812 Murray published Byron's second book, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, which sold out in five days, leading to Byron's observation "I awoke one morning and found myself famous".

Murray participated in one of the most notorious acts in the annals of literature, on 17 May 1824. Together with five of Byron's friends and executors, the decision was made to destroy Byron's manuscript journals in order to protect his reputation. Opposed only by Thomas Moore, the two volumes of memoirs were dismembered and burnt in the fireplace at Murray's office.

John Murray (3) (1808–1892) continued the business and published Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, Samuel Smiles and David Livingstone.

His successor Sir John Murray (4) (1851–1928) was publisher to Queen Victoria. Among other works, he published Murray's Magazine from 1887 through 1891.

His son Sir John Murray (5) (1884–1967) and John Murray (6) (John Arnaud Robin Grey Murray) continued the business until it was taken over. John Murray is no longer an independent business, but the name survives as a subdivision of publisher Hodder Headline.

John Murray Archive

The archive of the London publisher John Murray was purchased by the [National Library of Scotland] in 1996 for £31.2 million with the aid of a £17.7 million grant from the [Heritage Lottery Fund]. The Scottish Executive agreed to make a contribution of £8.3m, with the National Library setting a £6.5m fundraising target for the remainder. Originally estimated at a value of £45 million, John Murray VII, current head of the Murray family, offered the collection to the [National Library of Scotland] at a discounted price in order to maintain its connection with the family’s Scottish heritage. The John Murray Archive consists of 150,000 letters, journals, and manuscripts dating from 1768 through 1920. As part of the deal, John Murray has set up a charitable trust to help maintain and support access to the collection on an ongoing basis. The remainder of the John Murray Archive, 1921 onward, is still housed at the publisher’s Albemarle Street address, though plans are being made for the [National Library of Scotland] to acquire the 1921-1950 material as well. The Archive is in the process of being cataloged by [National Library of Scotland] catalogers. The collection is housed in the National Library of Scotland’s [George IV Bridge] building in [Edinburgh], where a reading room gives access to the John Murray Archive and other manuscript collections. A permanent exhibition space, scheduled to open in summer 2007, will display some of the most unique and interesting pieces of the collection.

Notable material

One of the most prestigious and influential of all British publishers, the archived materials of John Murray includes several notable authors, including: Lord Byron, David Livingstone, Charles Darwin, Jane Austen, David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, Benjamin Disraeli, William Ewart Gladstone, Herman Melville, Washington Irving, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It also incorporates the business papers of the Edinburgh publisher Charles Elliot, and the archive of the publisher Smith Elder.

The Archive includes the correspondence of the Murray family of several generations in a number of disciplines, including literature, exploration, politics, science, and engineering. Subjects in the John Murray Archive include archaeology, classical studies, bibliography, history and scholarship, art, architecture, art history and collecting, cookery, gardening, music, theatre, and children's books.

Especially interesting, the personal papers of Lord Byron are included in the Archive. The Byron collection features: a letter from Walter Scott to Lord Byron; the major portion of the poet's original manuscripts and annotated proofs; his surviving journals; the largest single collection (approximately 1,200) of his own letters; letters to Byron from fellow poets and writers - including James Hogg, Lady Caroline Lamb, and Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley - his family, his publisher, his closest friends, servants, travelling companions, politicians, artists, actors, mistresses, acquaintances and unknown fans, solicitors, bankers and merchants; and letters about Byron.

Other literary figures in the John Murray Archive include: Jane Austen; Washington Irving; Sir Walter Scott; Charles Dickens, Edith Wharton, William Wordsworth, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, Allan Cunningham, and JM Barrie. Notably, it also incorporates the preeminent holding of manuscripts by English poet and naturalist George Crabbe. In the area of Science and Technology, the John Murray Archive includes Charles Darwin, Charles Babbage, Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, and Sir Charles James Lyall.

The Archive features the papers of several major explorers and travelers. The major sections of the Travel and Exploration collection are: David Livingstone and other African explorers; Sir John Barrow and the Arctic and Antarctic explorers ('Barrow's Boys'); travellers throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas; and papers concerning the Murray Handbooks for Travellers. Also represented are Isabella Bird, Thomas Cook, Richard Ford, and Laurence Oliphant.

In the area of Economics and Politics, the collection features personal letters to and from several prime ministers, politicians, economists, and royalty: Isaac and Benjamin Disraeli, William Ewart Gladstone, Sir Robert Peel, John Stuart Mill, and Winston Churchill are all represented. And in Scholarship and the Arts, the Archive features Edward Lear, John Constable, Fanny Kemble, Sir David Wilkie, John Ruskin, and Sir Edwin Landseer.

Catalogue

The online catalogue of the John Murray Archive is searchable by keyword. Additionally, items are divided into the following sections for browsing: Business and Legal Papers, Byron Papers, Charles Elliot Business Papers, Incoming Correspondence, Manuscripts and Authors' Correspondence, Murray Family Papers, Outgoing Correspondence, and the Smith Elder Archive. Currently the catalogue contains 2358 entries. Entries include a brief description, highlighting any particularly noteworthy information contained and any indexes contained, a date, and a reference number.

Examples of Business and Legal Papers

• Private ledger of the publisher John Murray. The ledger gives details of private accounts and other financial matters concerning the Murray family. The ledger also includes a copy of a letter written by William Elliot 'respecting the settlement of the Trust Deed, Bonds, etc.'. The volume includes a basic index. Date: 1843-1866.
• Legal paper concerning an action of Thomas Cadell and William Davies, booksellers in London, and William Creech, bookseller in Edinburgh against James Robertson, printer in Edinburgh, over the copyright of poems of 'Robert Burns the Scottish poet'. Date: 1810.
• Manuscript book of the publisher John Murray. The volume is a register of each manuscript received by the publisher. It includes the name and address of the author of each manuscript and the name or the initials of the person to whom a manuscript was sent to be read. The entries are arranged chronologically. The volume also has lists of 'Old manuscripts etc'. sent to the warehouse' and, 'Unclaimed manuscripts, April 2nd 1834'. The volume does not include an original index. Date: 1 February 1817-2 April 1834.
• Diary of the publisher John Murray. The diary is a register of the people who had contacted the publisher either in person or by letter. It details the nature of the contact and the manner in which it was attended to. Date: 6 November 1899-19 September 1904.

Examples of Byron Papers

• (1) Manuscript, 1813, of 'The Bride of Abydos' by Lord Byron, with dedication and addenda, (2) manuscript of 'Lament of Tasso' (3) first manuscript draft of 'Werner' and (4) printed extract article, 1899, 'Did Byron write 'Werner'?'. Date: 1813, 1899.
• Bills and accounts of Lord Byron and John Cam Hobhouse, medical reports on Lord Byron, Gordon and Byron family pedigrees, and documents concerning Lord Byron's baptism, marriage and life insurance, 1788-1822. Date: 1788-1822.
• Bones and 'brizzle' of a 'Sea snake', with correspondence and clippings, and (unrelated) correspondence of the Wentworth family, 1815-1977. Date: 1815-1977.
• Manuscript, 1827, of Byron's 'Werner' in Mary Shelley's hand. Date: 1827.

Examples of Charles Elliot Business Papers

• Letter book of the publisher Charles Elliot containing copies of outgoing letters. The entries are arranged chronologically. The volume includes an original index to correspondents. Date: 7 May 1774-12 September 1776.
• ‘Sederunt book of the Trustees approved by Charles Elliot Bookseller in Edinburgh', containing minutes of the meetings of the Trustees. Date: 1790-1805.

Examples of Incoming Correspondence

• Letter of Spencer Perceval (1762-1812) to John Murray. Date: 1811.
• Letter of Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (1848-1930), to John Murray. Date: 1895.
• Incoming letters of correspondents from the firm of William Blackwood and Sons.
• Incoming letters of Francis Darwin.

Examples of Manuscripts and Authors' Correspondence

• Correspondence regarding the Memoirs of Princess Alice. Correspondents include Princess Christian, Sir T Martin, Professor M Muller and John Murray III. Date: 1884-1885.
• (1) Letters of Cassandra Austen to John Murray II concerning Jane Austen's books; (2) cheque made out to Jane Austen; and (3) three cheques made out to Reverend H. T. Austen and Cassandra Austen. Date: 1816-1831.
• Letters of Isabella Lucy (Bird) Bishop (1831-1904) to John Murray, including letters from Japan and some other papers. Date: 1894-1899.
• Correspondence relating to 'The Representative', a newspaper published by John Murray I, 1824-1826 and 1864. Correspondents include Issac, Maria and Benjamin Disraeli, Thomas Brande, Walter Henry Watts, John Murray II and Walter Buchanan. Date: 1824-1826.
• Manuscript notes for, and some annotated proofs of, Washington Irving's 'A Year in Spain'. Date: 1831.
• Letters of Charles Darwin mainly to John Murray, with some letters to other correspondents and some receipts for payment for copyright. Date: 1843-1871.
• 'Pontius Pilate', a sermon of George Crabbe delivered at Trowbridge, 14 August 1824 and 15 July 1827. Date: 1824.

Examples of Murray Family Papers

• John Murray I Documents and Papers: Personal - marriage settlement of Jane Murray and William Holland (1827). Date: 1827.
• John Murray II Documents and Papers: Personal - John Murray II's pass and admission tickets for the coronation of George IV (1821). Date: 1821.

Examples of Outgoing Correspondence

• Letter book of the publisher John Murray containing copies of outgoing letters. The entries are arranged chronologically. The volume includes an original index to correspondents. A letter, 15 November 1856, of John Murray to Langham is loosely inserted. A manuscript notice concerning publications is attached to the rear paste down. At the foot of the notice is written 'Confidential' and 'Not to be sold in Great Britain'. Date: 13 March 1846-27 April 1858.
• Letter book containing copies of correspondence of John Wilson Croker and John Murray, with some copies of letters of John Gibson Lockhart and others concerning the 'Quarterly Review'. The entries are arranged chronologically. The volume does not include an index. Date: 10 May 1838-19 April 1854.

Examples of the Smith Elder Archive

• Letter of Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) to George Smith. Date: 1864.
• Assorted letters, and copies of letters, of, to or concerning Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855). Date: 1846-1857.
• Draft agreement between Isabel Marion Smith, vendor, and John Murray and Major John Murray, purchasers, concerning the assets of Smith Elder and Company. Date: April 1917.

Excerpts from the Archive

John Murray to Charles Darwin, 1 April 1859:

I thank you for your obliging letter of yesterday and for the interesting details regarding your work on Species contained in it - On the strength of this information and my knowledge of your former publications, I have no hesitation in stating at once even without seeing the MS that I shall be most happy to publish it for you.

John Murray letter on Scott and Byron meeting for the first time:

I can recollect having seen Ld B at Albemarle St. As far as I can remember he appeared rather a short man, hands and countenance remarkable for the fine blue veins which ran on his temples. The deformity in his leg was to me very evident as he walked down stairs, he carried a stick... Mr M first introduced Walter Scott to Lord B - on meeting, they embraced each other in the most affectionate manner and were highly delighted with each other. It was a curious sight to see the two greatest poets of the age (both club footed) stumping down stairs arm in arm...

Darwin letter outlining Origin of Species:

The book ought to be popular with a large body of scientific and semi-scientific readers, as it bears on agriculture & history of our domestic productions & on whole field of zoology, botany and geology. I have done my best, but whether it will succeed I cannot say - I have been quite surprised at finding how much interested strangers and acquaintances have become with the subject. Only some small portions are at all abstruse. I hope to be ready for press early in May and shall then most earnestly wish to print at a rapid rate, for my health is much broken, and I want rest... As far I can judge, perhaps very falsely, it will be interesting to all (and they are many) who care for the curious problem of the origin of animate forms.

Walter Scott to John Murray, 18 December 1816:

I am just going to Abbotsford to make a small addition to my premises there. I have now about 700 acres, thanks to the Booksellers and the discerning public. PS - I have much to ask about Lord Byron if I had time. His third Canto is inimitable. Of the last poems, there are one or two which indicate rather an irregular play of imagination. What a pity that a man of such exquisite genius will not be contented to be happy on the ordinary terms! I declare my heart bleeds when I think of him, self-banished from the country to which he is an honour.

Four o’Clock Friends exhibition

In April and May of 2004, an exhibition entitled Four o’Clock Friends provided a sampling of newly discovered items in the Archive. Included in the exhibit were: the manuscript of Lord Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage and a ledger recording its sales; the letters of Sir Walter Scott, including one to Lord Byron; a first edition of Jane Austen’s Emma , and an engraving with the handwritten notes of explorer David Livingstone; a draft of an 1842 speech by Sir Robert Peel; and the letters of Charles Darwin.

A five-part BBC Radio 4 programme, aired between December 5, 2006 and January 2, 2007, highlighted the Four o’Clock Friends exhibition.

Forthcoming book

Scheduled for May 2007, Liverpool University Press will be publishing a book based on items in the John Murray Archive, entitled The Letters of John Murray to Lord Byron, edited by Andrew Nicholson. The publisher writes:

They reveal the very special (indeed intimate) relationship – unique in the annals of publishing – that existed between the two men, both on a personal level and in their professional and artistic capacities. They show, for instance, to what extent Byron was amenable to Murray’s suggestions as to alterations and revisions in his poetry, and how far Murray was prompted to publish works by authors at Byron’s recommendation (Coleridge’s 'Kubla Khan' and 'Christabel' owe their publication to just such a recommendation). Besides illuminating many other details of historical and literary interest, they throw considerable light on publishing practice at the time.

Further reading

• William Zachs - The First John Murray and the Late Eighteenth-Century London Book Trade (1998) ISBN 0-19-726191-4
• Andrew Nicholson (ed.) - The Letters of John Murray to Lord Byron' (May 2007) ISBN 1846310695

External links

• John Murray imprint
• National Library of Scotland - John Murray archive
• Works by "Mr. Murray" at Project Gutenberg (the work is actually a new-release catalogue from 1890)
• Darwin Project, a project to publish all of the correspondence of Charles Darwin, including his correspondence with Murray.
• BBC Radio 4 Four o'Clock Friends programme archive
• Four o'Clock Friends online exhibition