Higginbotham's is an Indian bookselling and publishing house headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is among the oldest bookshops in India and a long-established name in the country's retail book trade, with its flagship store located on Anna Salai (formerly Mount Road) in Chennai.
| Name | Higginbotham's |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bookselling and publishing |
| Headquarters | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Country of origin | India (founded under British rule) |
| Type | Retail bookstore chain and publisher |
| Parent group | Amalgamations Group |
Higginbotham's traces its origins to the city of Madras (now Chennai) in the 19th century, when it began as a bookshop catering to the colonial administrative and educational community in the Madras Presidency. The business takes its name from Abel Joshua Higginbotham, who managed and later acquired the establishment, building it into a leading bookshop in southern India.
Over time, the firm expanded its activities from retail bookselling into publishing and railway bookstall operations, becoming a familiar presence at major railway stations across the southern Indian network. It later came under the ownership of the Amalgamations Group, the Chennai-based industrial conglomerate associated with the Murugappa-era successors and the Sivasailam family of businesses.
The principal activities of Higginbotham's include:
The flagship store on Anna Salai in Chennai is regarded as a landmark of the city's commercial and cultural streetscape, and the company has additional outlets in Tamil Nadu and other southern Indian cities.
Higginbotham's holds a notable place in the history of the Indian book trade. Its longevity, association with the railway bookstall system, and continuing presence in Chennai have made it a recognisable institution in South Indian literary and commercial history. It is frequently cited in writings on the history of bookselling and print culture in colonial and post-Independence India.