[1]: 26–29 Joshua Ballinger Lippincott (March 18, 1813 – January 5, 1886)[2] founded the publishing company in Philadelphia when he was 23 years old.

In 1849, Lippincott acquired Grigg, Elliot & Co., a significant publisher and wholesaler whose origins dated back to printer and bookseller Benjamin and Jacob Johnson in 1792.

[1]: 16  Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, a popular periodical containing a complete novel, short stories, poetry, and opinion, was published in the U.S. and the UK from 1868 to 1914.

During the 20th century Lippincott also became a major publisher of schoolbooks for elementary and high school education and of references, textbooks, and journals in medicine and nursing.

B. Lippincott Company was acquired by Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. A. J. Holman was sold to the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979.

[5] Lippincott's trade, juvenile and elementary and high school divisions were merged into Harper's.