By 1826 he was recognised as one of the principal booksellers in the city; and a few years later he was joined in business by his nephew Charles.

[3] In 1827 he purchased the copyright of the Encyclopædia Britannica, along with co-investors Macvey Napier and James Browne LLD.

In 1877 a bronze statue by John Hutchison of Adam Black was erected in East Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.

[3] He is buried in Warriston Cemetery on the outer face of the catacombs close to James Young Simpson.

His granddaughter, Eda Lawrie married the botanist Robert John Harvey Gibson.