George Philip was a cartographer who established a bookseller’s and stationer’s shop in Liverpool during the 1840s. In 1848, his son George was admitted into the company as a partner and in 1851 creating the company name George Philip and Son. Philip's nephew Thomas joined the firm, becoming a partner in 1854. The company moved to London under the name George Philip & Son Ltd, where they sold geographical and educational publications. The creation of a new branch of the company, Philip, Son and Nephew, in 1859 focused upon retail book-selling and school supplies.

Further expansion of the business was enabled by the demand for school equipment and specialised maps and atlases, as the firm supplied these to schools in Australia and New Zealand.

Philip retired in 1879 and the business continued to be run by the family until 1988 when it was sold to the Octopus Publishing Co, where it continued to trade as George Philip Ltd. Hachette Livre acquired the group in 2001.