Mary, the daughter of Charles Frederick Orvis was put in charge of her father's fly tying studio in 1876 which consisted of a team of about 7 women fly tyers. Mary had great influence in the operation of the Orvis Fly Fishing business. By 1890 the Orvis name had become a leader in fly fishing tackle. In 1892 in attempt to standardize fly patterns Mary authored the classic "Favorite Flies and their Histories". The core of this book being the fact that it was based upon replies to a survey of fly fisherman of that era. The flies listed in this breakthrough book were shown in color-plates, however their receipes were never listed.