J. B. Lippincott & Co. was an American publishing house founded in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1836 by Joshua B. Lippincott. Joshua Lippincott's company began by selling Bibles and other religious works then successfully expanded into trade books, which became the largest portion of the business. In 1849, Lippincott acquired Grigg, Elliot & Co., a major book distribution company. The acquisition helped make the company one of the largest publishers in the United States. In the 1950s the company began producing a successful line of medical and nursing books and journals. The company was sold to Harper & Row in 1978 but Joshua Lippincott's great-grandson Joseph Wharton Lippincott, Jr. remained on the Board of Directors until 1987. In 1990, the company was acquired by Wolters Kluwer, who merged it with Raven Publishers and then with Williams & Wilkins to form Lippincott Williams & Wilkins in 1998.
From the description of J.B Lippincott Company Records , 1851-1958. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 228630521
