In 1872 James Sprent Virtue and Thomas Spalding, creditors of the publishing firm Strahan and Company, took over that firm and formed a company, named W. Isbister and Company, to continue many of its publications. William Isbister was a former partner in Strahan and Company, who managed the new firm, which was a subsidiary of J. S. Virtue. When Frederick Daldy, formerly of Bell and Daldy, joined the firm in 1874 it was renamed Daldy Isbister and Company.
In 1878 the assets of Daldy, Isbister and company were divided between two new bodies, Isbister and Company Limited, which was to publish schoolbooks, and William Isbister Limited, which continued to publish the journals Good Words and Sunday Magazine. These two companies merged in 1890 as Isbister and Company Limited, which was purchased by Isaac Pitman and Sons Limited in 1904.
