Daniel Lothrop (1831-1892)

Daniel Lothrop was born in Rochester, New Hampshire in 1831. At the age of fourteen, he decided against college and took charge of his brother James' drug store when James left for Philadelphia to study medicine. Two years later Daniel established another drug store in Newmarket and a short time later a third store in Laconia. By this time his brother John was also involved in the operation of the stores.

James, after returning fro. His medical studies, later opened a clothing store in Dover. The three brothers owned a number of stores in New Hampshire all under the D. Lothrop & Co. moniker.

In 1850 Daniel Lothrop bought a book store in Dover, New Hampshire from Elijah Wadleigh. Subsequently he opened branch books stores in other small towns. After operating these stores successfully, even through the financial panic of 1856-1857, Lothrop moved to Boston and opened a store at 38/40 Cornhill with the idea of publishing good literature for Sunday schools. His first book, Andy Luttrell, was a big seller. A major early success were his $500 and $1000 Prize Libraries. These series consisted of the best manuscripts submitted by authors who competed for the dollar prizes.

Franklin and Hawley Streets

Between 1868 and 1877 most of Lothrop's books were co-published with G. T. Day. The Reverend G. T. Day had been the editor of the Morning Star, a Baptist publication, in New Hampshire in 1866. Day also published some books on his namesake imprint. No information is available about their business arrangement.

Beyond the successes Lothrop had with book publishing, his foray into periodicals really cemented his publishing house as a power. Both "Babyland" and "Wide Awake" were very popular.

In 1875 D. Lothrop & Co. moved from its Cornhill location to the corner of Franklin and Hawley Streets.

In 1887 the firm, because of space necessities, moved to 364/366 Washington Street across from Bromfield Street.

In 1887 new partners were brought in and the name of the firm was changed to D. Lothrop Company. By 1892 Lothrop had the largest book list in the country-2000 volumes. In 1894 there were no members of the Lothrop family to carry on with the business and it was liquidated. A new firm was organized and named the Lothrop Publishing Company.

In 1904 Lee and Shepard purchased the stock, fixtures and accounts receivable of the bankrupt Lothrop Publishing Company. The businesses were combined to form Lothrop, Lee and Shepard.

Daniel Lothrop married twice. His first marriage lasted twenty years, ending with his wife's death in 1880. In 1881 he married Margaret Mulford whose pseudonym is well known as the author of the "Five Little Peppers" series, Margaret Sidney.