ABSTRACT
Edmund Downey notes ‘Tinsley Brothers had in their time many excellent literary advisers – one of them was Mr. John Morley – but William Tinsley occasionally accepted the verdict of some discriminating friend not attached to his staff.’ From Downey’s account it seems clear that Tinsley had already consulted Richard Dowling about the possibility of employing his cousin. Soon after that the two Tinsley Brothers decided they needed a man with some publishing experience to look after the management of their office. In the matter of buying and selling books they felt no need of help, believing that their experience as customers of other booksellers had taught them all it was necessary for them to know. But once they began to operate as publishers, some guidance was essential in dealing with papermakers, printers, and binders, and, indeed, in the management and accounting of their agreements with authors.
