DEKAT DIGITAL 2019 - 2020

At the dawn of a new, tumultuous century in a South Africa ravaged by war, young Frank R Thorold
was appointed as the South African agent for Singer, the American manufacturer of the first massproduced
sewing machine. Thorold set up shop in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, but needlework
wasn’t his true calling.
A passion for books and prints saw him furnish a corner of the sewing shop with texts and maps.
A bibliophile at heart, in 1904 he laid the foundations for what would become one of the most
significant destinations for collectors of world-renowned modern and antiquarian Africana, books,
prints and maps – Thorold’s Africana & Law Booksellers.
A devoted lover of the written word, Thorold became an internationally renowned provider of books to members of
the legal industry, and eventually also to collectors. It was a labour of love that he would continue for 58 years.
At the time of his death, the Thorold collection contained more than 200 000 items, including rare pieces like The
Nicolosi Map of Africa first published in Rome in 1660, The Works of John Locke in Three Volumes printed for
John Churchill in 1714, and De Toerako’s Afgebeeld en Beschreven by H Schlegel, in honour of BM den Koning
in 1860. Despite the business’s success, Thorold’s family took no interest in his endeavours. Following his death
in 1962, a lawyer, Robin Fryde, bought the business to run as a hobby while maintaining his position as legal
advisor to the mining industry. Fryde became a dedicated collector as well as an internationally recognised expert
and trader. The collection of legal books, Africana, antiquarian books and rare first editions soon spread over two
storeys of the building in Harrison Street in downtown Johannesburg. In his later years Fryde struggled to maintain
the upkeep of Thorold’s, and after his death in 2012 at the age of 81 his life partner and heir, Carlos Alves, was
ready to hand over the reins.
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