Delaware Valley Archivists Group

F.S. Hickman Printing plant, SE corner Gay & Church Sts., West Chester, PA, ca. 1870. Interior, Hickman Printing, ca. 1900. Photo by Albert Biles Joseph Thorne's corner at Hickman's Printing, ca. 1900. Photo by Thorne H.M. Talley at Hickman Printing Office ca. 1900. Photo by Thorne                     Since January I have been featuring the photographs of Joseph Thorne on this blog. It has been interesting to look at what he found worthy to photograph over 100 years ago. But who is this Joseph Thorne? Pardon me for not introducing him at the start. Joseph Thorne was born in West Chester in 1849 to Benjamin and Anna M. Williams Thorne. His father served in Company E, 124th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers during the Civil War. Joseph Thorne married Annie Guss, the daughter of Captain Francis Guss and the couple lived in West Chester all their lives. Thorne had apprenticed in the printing trade with Major E. B. Moore of the American Republican Newspaper. In 1868 he went to work for F.S. Hickman Printing, where he became the foreman. In his obituary, Thorne was called one of the best printers in West Chester. The Hickman Printing  was extablished in 1845 doing all types of job printing and publishing, it flourished until the death of the owner in 1918. The Thorne’s lived at 425 S. Church St. where they were active in the community. Thorne was a member of First West Chester Fire Company and the West Chester Methodist Church. He died in 1916 at age 67 from a stroke and was buried in Oaklands Cemetery. In Thorne’s collection of glass plate negatives, none of the images are identified as a self-portrait. The wonderful interior view of Hickman’s printing office taken by Albert Biles shows several employees.  Could either of the two older men be Joseph Thorne? If you can identify any of the people please let me know. Pamela Powell, Photo Archivist