James Cephas Derby (1818–1892) was an American book publisher in New York state.

James Cephas Derby was born in Little Falls, New York on July 20, 1818.

[1] He created several business partnerships which issued works by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Henry Ward Beecher, Alice and Phoebe Cary, Margaret C. Conkling, Augusta Jane Evans, Fanny Fern, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, Josiah Hopkins, Solomon Northup, William H. Seward, Mary Virginia Terhune, Catherine Anne Warfield, and others.

[2][3] A Republican Party activist, he served under Secretary Seward in the Department of State for the Lincoln administration.

He also helped organize the American portion of the 1867 International Exposition in Paris.