Elliot Stock (1838 - 1 March 1911) was an English publisher and bibliophile who collected first editions. The publishing company that bore his name was in business from 1859 to 1939. His father was wealthy but died when Elliot was in his infancy. After education at

Amersham Grammar School Dr Challoner's Grammar School (also known as DCGS, Challoner's Boys or simply Challoner's) is a selective grammar school for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form, in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. It was given Academy (English school), a ...

, Elliot Stock first worked for the firm of Piper, Stephenson, and Spence and then in 1857 became an apprentice to Mr. B. L. Green, a book-seller at 62,

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row was a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area cal ...

. In 1859 Stock acquired the business. B. L. Green was the brother of Dr. Green of the

Religious Tract Society The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization founded in 1799 and known for publishing a variety of popular religious and quasi-religious texts in the 19th century. The society engaged in charity as well as commerci ...

. In its early years, the firm of Elliot Stock was primarily engaged in publishing religious works. In 1866 Stock married Fanny Bellin, the daughter of Samuel Bellin, an artist and engraver. Stock became an amateur painter and poet and acquired many artistic and literary friends and acquaintances. He was also a bird-watcher and athlete (winning a silver cup in rowing). In 1877 Stock published facsimile first editions of ''

The Pilgrim's Progress ''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...

'', ''

The Compleat Angler ''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London. Walton continu ...

'' and

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

's ''The Temple''. Every effort was made to recreate the actual type, paper, and binding of the original works in these facsimiles. Stock's firm published many other notable facsimile first editions, such as those for ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'', '' Rasselas'' and ''

The Vicar of Wakefield ''The Vicar of Wakefield'', subtitled ''A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself'', is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and wid ...

''. ''The Antiquary'' was published by the Elliot Stock company from December 1879 to 1915. The monthly ''Book-Prices Current'' was started in 1887 by the firm of Elliot Stock and became a standard reference for book dealers and collectors. Elliot Stock and Fanny R. Bellin were the parents of four sons and a daughter. Their son Ernest Elliot Stock (1869–1957) was the author of ''The Ring of Ug, and Other Weird Tales'' and publications on climbing in the Alps.

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* (63-page book of poetry) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stock, Elliot 1838 births 1911 deaths Publishers (people) from London 19th-century English poets 19th-century English businesspeople