Young Druggists Become Stationers
In Part I, you read about the Tilton family and discovered that Frank and Fred Tilton were nephews of Charles Elliot Tilton, who had named the town of Tilton, NH, after his great-grandfather, the brothers’ great-great grandfather. You also read briefly that Fred Tilton and Elliott Thorp, the would-be founders of Tilton Mfg. Co., were druggists who had worked at a pharmacy in Tilton in 1869. In Part II we will circle back to that little pharmacy, named Thorp & Tilton, and review the early careers of these budding stationers. Since we dove into Fred’s family and background in Part I, let’s begin Part II by taking a closer look at Elliott.
1870-1874: Thorp & Tilton Pharmacy
Elliott G. Thorp was born about half a year after Fred, on August 1, 1849, in South Weare, NH (Cross, 1905; Obituary, 1895; Elliott, 1895; Copy Death Notice, 1895). 20 years later, in 1869, Elliott graduated from the University of Michigan with a Doctor of Medicine degree (University of Michigan, 1870; University of Michigan, 1871; Copy Death Notice, 1895). His parents had come to Northfield, NH, in the 1860s, so Thorp would have grown some connection to the area by the time he graduated. By 1870, Dr. Thorp was co-living in Tilton, NH, as a “druggist” with 52-year-old Samuel Tilton, a miller, and several others (U.S. Census Bureau, 1870). Coincidentally, one of Fred Tilton’s father’s cousins was named Samuel Jacques Tilton, and he would have been 52 in 1870 (Family Tree of John Tilton, n.d.). This suggests that Elliott Thorp may have had connections with the Tilton family even before he had business connections with Fred.
It appears to be around this time that he and Fred went into business together for the first time, working at Thorp & Tilton, a drug store located in Tilton, NH (Cross, 1905, Guernsey, 1872). It’s unclear how this business began as I was unable to find any papers indicating incorporation, but it is listed in the 1873 and 1874 New Hampshire Directory under both medicine and, interestingly, stationery (Claremont, 1873; Claremont, 1874). In the original research, I had overlooked its second listing under stationery, thinking it was a separate business because the stationery listing was also associated with G. W. Tilton. After discovering the Tilton family tree, I realized that there was a George W. Tilton in the family, another of Jeremiah C.’s cousins, the one who had likely taken over his role as postmaster in Tilton, NH, in 1872. It is possible that Elliott Thorp and Fred Tilton founded the drug store, and then left the stationery part of the business in the capable hands of the prior generation, or perhaps the store was founded by the prior generation, which gave rise to the connections between the families, and then Elliott and Fred worked there to get a leg up in their careers. As I was unable to find further information, in order to focus my efforts into the typewriter questions, I have left these unanswered questions up to future historians.
In any case, like many druggists of the time, it was clear that the Thorp & Tilton pharmacy also sold stationery (Hill, 1873; Claremont, 1874). Given that stationers sold office supplies, furniture, and equipment, this early exposure to the stationery business would eventually prove to be fruitful, and would lead to an easy way into the typewriter business; however, that wouldn’t be for another few years. The typewriter market was basically non-existent the years that Elliott and Fred were working at Thorp & Tilton. The Sholes & Glidden, the first typewriter that was successfully sold to the masses, made its market debut in 1874. 1874 also happens to be the most likely year that Thorp & Tilton was dissolved.
1875-1887: Fred Tilton, Stationer
In 1875, Elliott G. Thorp left for Boston, MA (Copy Death Notice, 1895). He associated himself with the publishing firm Nichols & Hall at 32 Broomfield St. (Elliott, 1895; Copy Death Notice, 1895), and remained with that company for four years (Obituary, 1895).
That same year, Fred G. Tilton was listed as the druggist of the Worcester County Drug Store in Worcester, MA, on 41 Park at the corner of Portland St. in an office building called Dodge Block (Ambler, 1875, p. 54). The building took its name from Thomas H. Dodge, the proprietor, who maintained his law and patent offices there (Ambler, 1875, p. 54). One might imagine that their paths would have crossed, and perhaps if Mr. Tilton was interested in learning about the patent process and/ or the legal side of the business, he could have struck up a relationship with his neighbor. In these pictures of Dodge's Block from 1899 and 1875, if you squint, you can see the sign for the Worcester County Drug Store located prominently on the side of the building.
At some point Fred partnered with his older brother, Frank. In 1880, we see Frank listed as an apothecary (U.S. Census Bureau, 1880), suggesting that he too went into the pharmacy business at some point in time, but it is unclear whether Fred and Frank were running the Worcester County Drugstore together in 1875 since the ad lists only Fred. Unfortunately, it seems that the brothers were having financial difficulties because on July 7, 1876, they declared voluntary bankruptcy (Court Reports, 1876; Legal Notices, 1877). On March 20 of the following year, E. G. Thorp was listed as assignee of the bankruptcy hearing (Legal Notices, 1877), so we have evidence that Thorp and Tilton’s relationship persisted after they had parted ways. As an assignee of the bankruptcy, Dr. Thorp’s job would have been to handle the Tilton brothers’ assets and ensure their debts were being paid fairly.
By 1877, George F. Dinsmore had taken over the Worcester County Drugstore (Drew, Allis, & Co., 1877), potentially buying it from Fred after he was unable to pay his debts. It is interesting to note that a Mr. H. Fairbanks was running an apothecary in town at that same time, which may be where Frank ended up after bankruptcy. There was an A. P. Fairbanks who ran the Worcester County Drug Store before Fred (Drew, Allis, & Co., 1872), so assuming this is a family name, perhaps the families worked together before and after the bankruptcy.
Thankfully, Fred and Frank appear to have turned around their financial troubles after a couple of years, at least for a short time. Around 1878, Fred purchased Louis Merriam’s bookstore in Greenfield, MA (Greenfield, 1907; Plan Sales Room, 1938; Cross, 1905), which had been founded in 1838 (Int’l Pub. Co., 1886). Fred ran the business under the name F. G. Tilton & Co., but it seemed to make sense to keep the well-known name, Merriam Bookstore, associated with the business (School Books, 1878; Blank Books, 1879). By December 1879, advertisements were referring to the company as the “Old Merriam Bookstore, F. G. Tilton & Co.” (Diaries for 1880, 1879). Fred showed his business savvy, at least from a strategic perspective, in vertically integrating the business by purchasing a paper mill in Fort Edwards, New York (Trade Gossip, 1879). Unfortunately, where this may have made sense strategically, it seems the business was not lucrative, and again Fred seems to have gone into debt that he was unable to pay (Cameron, 1889).
In 1880, Fred's brother Frank moved from Randolph to North Adams (Frank L. Tilton, 1902) with his wife Rebecca and their 6-year-old nephew Frank, Jr., who they cared for like a son. He purchased Orson Dalrymple’s news and stationery store, and it seems that he set up shop for the long haul. He proliferated stores across the city, and maintained them for the remainder of his life (Death of Frank, 1902).
1880 also saw joy in Fred and Emma’s life, which would have been shared by Fred’s mother who was living with them at the time (U.S. Census Bureau, 1880). In October, Fred and Emma brought a son into the world (U.S. Census Bureau, 1900). It seems that in honor of his long-time business partner, possibly related to assistance offered during his time of financial need, or perhaps because they were indeed close friends, Fred named his son Elliott Thorp Tilton.
Fred would eventually move on from the bookstore. In 1884, Frank Brown started working for the bookshop (Stationer Celebrates, 1917), and seems to have done well in the business. In August 1885, the business was sold to the J. W. Newell Company (Leypoldt, 1885; Int’l Pub. Co., 1886), but it seems that Fred Tilton and Frank Brown may have continued working with the shop. Two years later, in 1887, Mr. Brown purchased the shop and eventually renamed it “F. H. Brown Company” (Plan Sales Room, 1938). By 1938, it became one of the oldest businesses still in operation in Greenfield, MA (Plan Sales Room, 1938).
1875-1890: Thorp Enters the Stationery Business
Back to 1875 when Dr. Thorp left Tilton, NH, as aforementioned, he associated himself with Nichols & Hall in Boston, MA (Elliott, 1895; Copy Death Notice, 1895; Mayhew, 1875). About a year later, Dr. Thorp and W. W. Winkley, also of Nichols & Hall, entered into a co-partnership with Edwin E. Dresser to form Winkley, Thorp, and Dresser, a stationer and blank book manufacturer located in the Rialto Building on Devonshire St. in Boston (Elliott, 1895; Copy Death Notice, 1895; Winkley, Thorp, & Dresser, 1878; King, 1878). On January 28, 1876, Elliott and his wife Hattie had a daughter, Marion Gould Thorp, in Melrose, MA (MA Vital & Town Records, 1876). It is interesting to note that Elliott was listed as a “salesman” in his daughter’s birth record, not as a “stationer”. That same year, there was an announcement that Elliott G. Thorp had purchased a newspaper and periodical business at No. 5 North Main Street, Fall River, MA, which had belonged to Isaiah P. Pope for the previous 30 years (Isaiah P. Pope, 1876; Notice, 1876; Death, 1882). It seems that Mr. Pope was looking to retire; he passed away six years later in 1882 (Died, 1882). I was unable to determine if the purchase was through the firm of Winkley, Thorp, & Dresser, or if Elliott made the purchase outright.
Just two years later, in 1878, Winkley, Thorp, & Dresser purchased the stationery and bank book business of the Cambridgeport Diary Company, which happened to have been co-founded by Mr. Dresser’s father (Business Changes, 1878; King, 1878). Before the acquisition, Cambridgeport Diary Company was the successor to Cutter, Tower & Co., another stationer (Winkley, Thorp, & Dresser, 1878; King, 1878). That same year, Cutter-Tower Company, founded in 1845 by Mr. Cutter and Levi C. Tower, incorporated in Massachusetts (Mercantile Illustrating Co, 1895), suggesting that perhaps a new company was incorporated, because Cambridgeport Diary Co. took over a portion of the business activities of Cutter, Tower, & Co., but it is difficult to determine from the sources available. Just two years later, we find Dr. Thorp living in North Cambridge, MA, with his wife Harriett and their then four-year-old daughter (U.S. Census Bureau, 1880). In 1884, six years after taking over Cambridgeport Diary Company, the firm of Winkley, Thorp, & Dresser was dissolved by mutual consent (Obituary, 1895; Stationery Notes, 1884). Winkley and Dresser remained partners under a new name, Winkley, Dresser, & Co., and headquartered at 12 Milk St. in Boston (Obituary Notes, 1893). Interestingly, Cutter-Tower Co. was also located at 12A Milk St. at least by 1895 (Mercantile Illustrating Co., 1895).
As for Elliott Thorp, in the spring of 1884, he organized the Thorp Mfg. Co., taking the office of Treasurer. His board of directors was made up of himself, President G. Bill, Secretary J. E. Spears, and D. M. Garrett (Obituary, 1895; Stationery Notes, 1884). The company purchased the publishing, printing, and bookbinding branches of Winkley, Thorp, & Dresser (Wright & Potter, 1890), and likely needing more space to manufacture this acquired business, Thorp Mfg. Co. built a new factory in Boston at 50 Hartford St. and 113 Purchase St. (American Stationer, 1888; Girls, 1885). Does this address sound familiar, perhaps from a particular article written about the Franklin typewriter? You can get a feel for what that building looked like from the advertisement on the left, taken from an 1888 volume of the trade journal, The American Stationer.
Seemingly never quite satisfied, in 1886, only two years later, the Thorp Manufacturing Co. was dissolved, and Dr. Thorp moved to New York to make new connections. He became a member of another stationer, Koch, Sons & Co., (Obituary, 1895; Stationery Notes, 1884); however, this did not seem to be where he wanted to settle either. His retirement from the New York firm was announced in January 1888 (Obituary, 1895; American Stationer, 1888).
It seems that Thorp maintained his Boston connections while in New York. Upon his return to the city, he re-partnered with F. W. Bailey, formerly of Thorp Mfg. Co., and reached out to George E. Adams and F. B. Ingraham of Adams & Ingraham, another popular stationer of the time. Together they founded the Thorp & Adams Mfg. Co., certified in Boston on February 1, 1888, and purchased the machinery and business of the former Thorp Mfg. Co., including the factory location, 50 Hartford and 113 Purchase Streets. Mr. Adams took the role of President, while Dr. Thorp maintained his former position as Treasurer (American Stationer, 1888; Wright & Potter, 1890). It would be difficult to prove, but one reason for the quick move back may have been for family reasons. On February 14, 1888, Elliott Thorp’s father died in his home in Allston, MA (Earp, 2018). Thorp’s move back to Boston may have enabled him to be closer to his mother, who would have been alone since his brother, Derwin, had already passed back in 1864 (Earp, 2018). On May 1 of that year, perhaps building on Thorp’s former connections, Thorp & Adams Mfg. Co. opened sales rooms with a store front display on Broadway near Duane St. under the direction of F. W. Bailey (American Stationer, 1888).
As for the general office, Adams & Ingraham had been located at 14 Milk St. (American Stationer, 1888). It seems Thorp & Adams Mfg. Co. took over that five story granite building (Local Lines, 1890; Boston Almanac, 1891, pg 482). When a stationer owned an entire building in the middle of a big city like Boston, it was typical to place the offices and/ or factory floors in the upper portion of the building, and to maintain a showroom on the first floor, often with large windows showing beautiful displays to entice passersby, aka "window shoppers”, to make a purchase. Thorp & Adams Mfg. Co. did just that. Sadly, we know this through the description of a fire that somehow started on one of the display counters at the center of the store on the first floor of the building on February 6, 1890 (Local Lines, 1890). It seems that no matter which company one researches from that time, one will inevitably encounter this danger. Thank goodness for modern fire safety and building codes!
It is interesting to note that Thorp & Adams Co. later became Thorp & Martin Co., which was located first at 14 and then at 12 Milk St. (Obituary, 1895; Elliott, 1895; Sampson Murdock & Co., 1893; Sampson Murdock & Co., 1894; Sampson Murdock & Co., 1900); as you just read, 12 Milk had been home to Winkley, Dresser, & Co. in 1886, and would later become home to Cutter-Tower Co. at least in 1895. It seems that stationery businesses during the Industrial Revolution were quite entangled from both a location and a personnel perspective.
And here we will leave the story, with Elliott Thorp running Thorp & Adams Mfg. Co., Frank Tilton quietly building his stationery business in North Adams, MA, and Fred Tilton just having left the “Old Merriam Bookstore”. In Part III of this story you will finally witness the birth of the Tilton Manufacturing Company. You’ll have the chance to review my theory as to why this elusive company was founded and some information about the origins of its star product. To finish the section, the World typewriter will make a surprise appearance as it too is linked to the Tilton name.
References
Due to the length of the reference list for this four part series, it has been posted separately. Please see the article titled "Discovering Tilton, References" for a complete list of all sources you will encounter in the text, and from which the pictures were pulled.
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