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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Higginbothams began in Madras in 1844, when Abel Joshua Higginbotham took over the Wesleyan Book Depository and turned it into a bookselling business. Its early connection to Methodist worship and religious books is part of the origin story; under later generations, it grew into a bookstore and publisher. The company was founded in 1844, so the “174-year-old” wording in the original headline reflected its age in 2018, not today.
Who founded Higginbothams, and when?
Higginbothams traces its beginning to Abel Joshua Higginbotham and 1844 in Madras, now Chennai. Both the company’s official history and the Government of India’s tourism account identify him as the founder and give 1844 as the founding year.
The original headline’s “174-year-old” referred to the business in 2018. Since the sources establish a founding year but not the exact anniversary date, the most precise present-day description is that Higginbothams was founded in 1844.
How did the bookstore begin?
The company says Higginbotham had librarian qualifications and worked at the Wesleyan Book Depository before buying it in 1844 and renaming the business Higginbothams. The government tourism account connects his attendance at services at the Black Town Methodist chapel, beginning around 1840, with an interest in religious literature; it describes the early store as specialising in that material.
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Together, the accounts place the bookstore’s origins in the depository and its religious-book trade. They do not provide a detailed, independently corroborated record of the purchase, so the exact circumstances should not be embellished beyond those broad outlines.
How did it grow beyond its beginnings?
From bookselling to publishing
Higginbothams did more than sell books. The government tourism page says the firm published works including Mark Wilks’ Sketches of South India, Colonel Todd’s Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, and Francis Buchanan’s Mysore Canara Malabar. The company homepage also identifies Culinary Jottings for Madras (1884) as one of its publications. These examples show a publishing history alongside the shop’s bookselling business.
A family business and a royal designation
According to the company’s account, Abel’s son Charles later led the business as it expanded to places including Bengaluru and Ooty. The company says Higginbothams was awarded the designation “Royal Booksellers” in 1875. That wording and date come from the company’s own history.
Part of a larger group
The company says Higginbothams became part of the Amalgamations Group in the 1940s. This marks a later stage in the business’s history after its expansion under the Higginbotham family.
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Is Higginbothams India’s oldest bookstore?
The Government of India tourism page calls it India’s oldest bookstore. That is an attributed description, not a conclusion based here on a comparison of every surviving bookstore using a consistent definition. What the available accounts establish is that Higginbothams began in 1844 and has a long history in Chennai.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you find Higginbothams today?
The company’s official pages list its Chennai shop at No. 116, Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, and a Bengaluru shop at 74, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bengaluru 560 001. Its contact page lists further outlets. Addresses and opening hours can change, so check the company’s current directory before visiting.
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