Stainer & Bell

On Guy Fawkes’ Day, 5 November 1907, four partners decided to turn their enterprise, which had been trading for a few months, into a limited company, and Stainer & Bell was formed, publishing from a room in Berners Street, London. There was neither a Mr Stainer nor a Mr Bell. Tradition has it that the partners chose the name because it had a creditworthy ring to it. Harry Plunket Greene, the Irish bass singer, headed the company’s music selection committee, and the new enterprise received great support in musical circles, especially from Sir Charles Villiers Stanford*, who placed most of his work with the company. The chosen method of publishing was to issue works in series which, by...