Stock was the son of a wealthy father from an East Anglian family that settled in Essex, and a mother from a Huguenot family named Collard. He was the husband of Fanny Bellin (married 1866), the daughter of Samuel Bellin, an artist and engraver.
Stock was a publisher and bibliophile who collected first editions. The publishing company that bore his name was in business from 1859–1939.
After attending Amersham Grammar School, Stock first worked for the firm of Piper, Stephenson, and Spence, then in 1857 became an apprentice to Mr. B. L. Green, a book-seller at 62 Paternoster Row.
In 1859 Stock acquired the business. B. L. Green was the brother of Dr. Green of the Religious Tract Society. In its early years, the firm of Elliot Stock was primarily engaged in publishing religious works.
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 John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Izaak Walton’s Compleat Angler and George Herbert’s Temple.
Stock’s firm issued many other notable facsimile first editions, such as those for Robinson Crusoe, Rasselas and The Vicar of Wakefield.
Stock published The Antiquary from December 1879–1915. In 1887, he began publishing the monthly Book-Prices Current, which became a standard reference for book dealers and collectors.
His other works include:
The wind goes by,
The dead leaves fall
Silent beneath
The churchyard wall.
Man, like the leaf, doth quiet lie,
Though deeper, he
Shall rise and fly
By Christ his aid
And shall not stay
Where men and leaves
Do aye decay.
Elliot Stock
A Publisher’s Playground, 1888
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