Rivington (publishers)

James emigrated to the United States, where he pursued his trade in New York City; John carried on the business on the lines marked out by his father and went on to become the great Church of England publisher of his day.

In 1760, he was appointed publisher to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and the firm kept up this relationship for over seventy years.

After admitting his sons Francis (1745–1822) and Charles (1754–1831) into partnership, Rivington took on for the "New Conger" Association the publication of standard editions of the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Locke, and other English classics.

[4] Following the death of Henry Thornton, the Treasurer of the Cheap Repository, Hannah More was upset when she discovered just how profitable these editions had been for the company.

Rivington made new links with the High Church party by the publication from 1833 of Tracts for the Times.

In 1890 the business was sold to Longmans, and Butler then moved to Cassell & Company as chief editor.