News on progress…
British Newspaper Archive
My focus over winter 2024/25 was to find everything I could regarding Thorne’s in the British Newspaper Archive. The company was not strong on self-promotion so there are few sources that reveal detailed information on the management, structure, manufacturing techniques or workforce. However, from many snippets such as marriage and death notices, useful pictures of people can be gleaned.
Thorne’s did on occasions launch newspaper advertising campaigns aimed at the the consumers of their products and examples of these can be found in British Newspaper Archive. A large spreadsheet has been built analysing which towns, publications and periods Thorne’s were doing consumer advertising campaigns. Here are some examples from the 1920’s,
In 1922 a series of advertisements appeared in the Derbyshire Times entitled “Happy Moments” and “Enjoy Yourself”, from which we learn that Spot the dog was begging for toffee before he featured on toffee tins. Spot enjoyed adventures like a charabanc ride, a beach trip, a picnic, a football match, a concert, a Sunday walk, and here he is playing tennis.
Children’s competitions were another advertising campaign theme. Colouring and painting competitions, puzzles, word games and photography were devices used.
Here, a huge tin of toffee is a “ripping” success at a children’s party. There is Spot again, begging for toffee.
Spot and his girl companion became trademarked and, in a national advertising campaign, families were encouraged to recreate the trademark with their own daughters and dogs for a photography competition.
In 1923, the Liverpool confectionery trade introduced “Candy Week”, an idea imported from the USA. Candy Week also included another newly imported idea – “Mother’s Day” – all about selling more “candy”. This Thorne’s advert is one of the first Mother’s Day advertisements in the UK.
MY COLLECTION
It becomes increasingly more difficult to find new additions to my Thorne’s collection, however here is one impressive find from 2025, a Thorne’s Almond Nu-Tex seaside pail.
This E. T. Gee & Sons advertisement shows the range of sizes of seaside pails made by this tin manufacturer. “Utility” in this case simply meant ‘useful’ or ‘could be used for other purposes after the toffee had gone’. The Thorne’s tin illustrated in this advertisement is in my collection too and is shown on the next page.
THORNE’S COMPANY STRUCTURE
Through the family of George Frederick Tinsley, a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of Henry Thorne & Company Ltd has been obtained. This document details the legal framework under which the company was constituted and run. This is a significant addition to the research and it is so helpful to see this document as it answers several of my major research questions, such as why Henry Marshall Thorne’s probate took 26 years.
THE BRITISH LIBRARY & THE MITCHELL LIBRARY
Over winter 2025/26 I am making visits to The British Library at Boston Spa and The Mitchell Library in Glasgow to view confectionery industry trade publications. Here is an editorial announcing the launch of two Thorne’s products, neither of which I had come across before.
A change of gear
Previously, focus in this research project has been on finding and collecting information on Thorne’s to bring together the jig-saw pieces to build their story. 2025 has seen two important changes of emphasis.
WRITE-UPS
I have begun to compile write-ups on particular pieces of Thorne’s history, focusing initially on people stories. Each write up brings together all the sources I have on the topic and identifies what more needs to be done to complete the story. The write-up is filed as complete when the story is told. These documents will be incorporated into the project’s final outputs.
THE PLAN – 2032
Having started knowing nothing, it wasn’t possible to build a concrete plan as to where this project was going. Now I have sufficient information for the framework of the Thorne’s story, the research material that is available to be examined, and what major questions I still need to answer.
My plan is to complete all research, have everything written up and have a book and talks available in 2032 – the year that Thorne’s would have been 200 years old. There is still a mammoth amount of work to do to hit that target – so I better get back on with it!
Henry Thorne & Co. Ltd., Leeds, England 