Lippincott's developed a series of manuals regarding agricultural production, including this volume on beekeeping. Among other things, it offers a historical look at apiculture, the practice of human harvesting of products from honey bee colonies, as well as its marketing methodology. Beekeeping has quite a history, dating back to at least 15,000 years ago. The story of J.B. Lippincott & Co. offers a look at the complexities of the publishing industry. J.B. Lippincott & Co. was an American publishing house established in 1836 by Joshua Ballinger Lippincott, which still exists today as Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, which itself is an imprint of the publishing conglomerate, Wolters Kluwer, and focuses on technical journals. Initially J.B. Lippincott & Co. published Bibles and other religious materials, before expanding into fiction, almanacs, medical and other books. Later, Lippincott's Monthly Magazine was issued, from 1868-1914 and offered novels, short stories, opinion pieces and other writings. In 1978, Lippincott's was acquired by Harper & Row, which was then acquired by Wolters Kluwer in 1990.