George Smith (publisher, born 1789)

His father died while he was very young, and the property, badly managed by an uncle, was lost before George came of age.

[1] As a young man George was apprenticed to Isaac Forsyth, a bookseller and banker in the town of Elgin, Moray.

He was by nature hard working and conscientious, and made steady progress after coming to London.

[3] In 1816 George and another Scottish immigrant to London, Alexander Elder, a native of Banff, Aberdeenshire, set up as partners in a small business.

The firm published a wide variety of items, including novels, translations, pamphlets, and collections of prints.

He was unable to attend to the business of the firm, and his place was taken by George Murray Smith soon after he came of age in 1845.