Daniel Wrixon Thorpe was born in Macorna, the son of farmers, in 1889. Thorpe began school at Macorna, but completed his education at North Fitzroy State School after the family had moved to Melbourne in 1899.
Thorpe worked part-time at a newsagency for a short time before beginning an apprenticeship with the stationer George Robertson & Co Ltd. In 1909 he moved to the paper merchants James Spicer & Sons, rising to assistant general manager within ten years. Despite his success with Spicer, he left the company in 1921 to establish the Australian Stationery and Fancy Goods Journal. Thorpe worked hard to make the journal a success, travelling widely in search of advertisers and new ideas for the magazine. The early years of the journal provided little return, but it eventually became an important publication in the trade. In 1937, the title was changed to Ideas.
In 1928 Thorpe established All About Books for Australian and New Zealand Readers as a companion to his trade journal. Running for about ten years, All About Books employed a number of significant reviewers, including Nettie Palmer and Frederick Macartney. Thorpe also employed his 12-year-old daughter Joyce for the children's page, establishing a connection that would continue for many years.
Thorpe was a significant figure in many trade associations, serving as secretary to Associated Booksellers of Australia and New Zealand for more than twenty years (1925-49). In 1948 D. W. Thorpe Pty Ltd was established and in 1956 the important series Australian Books in Print was begun. By 1956 separate issues of Ideas were being produced for both newsagents and booksellers.
In the 1960s Thorpe settled into semi-retirement, but his business interests were declining until his daughter Joyce joined the company's management in 1968 and helped to stabilise the business. This allowed Thorpe to enjoy his retirement on Queensland's Gold Coast. He died there in June 1976.
