Background
His father was a prosperous coal merchant, and provided his son with the capital to purchase a share in Lackington, Allen, & Company"s large shop in Finsbury Square.
head official publisher bookseller
His father was a prosperous coal merchant, and provided his son with the capital to purchase a share in Lackington, Allen, & Company"s large shop in Finsbury Square.
He inherited the business of his distant relation James Lackington, on his retirement in 1798. He became head of the firm in 1798. The first volume of the Lackington"s Catalogue, Michaelmas 1799 to Michaelmas 1800, described over 200,000 books
The second volume, which described over 800,000, was issued in 1803.
In 1822 the business was conducted under the name of Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Lepard. The Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly was bought by Lackington, and let for miscellaneous exhibitions.
In his later years he was an official assignee of bankrupts in London. He died at Saint John"s Wood on 31 March 1844, aged 76.
Many well-known booksellers received their training there.
The "last of the Lackingtonians", Kanes James Ford, died 11 December 1886, at the age of 94.
Besides Lackington, the other members of the firm were Allen, who possessed a great knowledge of books acquired from early training with James Lackington, and Richard Hughes, also lessee of Sadler"s Wells.