© Ken Hawley Collection Trust - K.1039
Joseph Smith (c.1785-1857), a razor manufacturer, was apparently apprenticed to his father, Isaac, a Stannington razor maker. Joseph was granted his Freedom in 1810. He first appeared in a directory in 1833 at Radford Street.
By 1852, the firm was ‘& Son’ (after Joseph’s son, John, joined) and employed ten men and three boys. Joseph died on 2 April 1857, aged 72; John on 30 March 1868, aged 51. They were buried at Ecclesall and Fulwood, respectively. John’s widow, Sarah, continued the firm. But in 1878 the mark – ‘JOSEPH SMITH & SONS CELEBRATED RAZOR. 3415’ (granted in 1810) – was acquired by Joseph Allen.