George Smith was Master Cutler in 1749.  He was ‘one of the most prominent cutlers of his day’ and ‘typical of the better class of master’ (Leader, 1905¹; 1905-6²).  He was religious and on Sundays marched his numerous children and apprentices to the Parish Church, where they occupied two pews.  George Smith & Sons was listed as a manufacturer of table knives in Peacroft in 1774, using the trade mark ‘SS’ with crown.  Possibly George died in the late 1770s or early 1780s, as he was not listed in the directory (1787).  Samuel Smith, a table knife manufacturer in Scotland Street, was listed in that year, using ‘SS’ and a candlestick device.

^1. Leader, R E, Sheffield in the Eighteenth Century (Sheffield, 2nd edn, 1905)

^2. Leader, R E, History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire in the County of York (Sheffield, 1905-6)