This partnership appeared in a Sheffield directory in 1797, as a table knife manufacturer at 63 Pond Street.  The family relationship between the two partners is unknown, but they parted in 1802.  According to The London Gazette, 1 January 1805, William Nicholson & Son (comprising William Nicholson Sen. and Joseph Nicholson) was terminated in 1805 – though the trade is not specified and so it is unknown if this was related to the former firm.  In 1811, William Nicholson was still trading as a table knife manufacturer at 63 Pond Street.  His surname was widespread in Sheffield, so his biography remains uncertain.  However, a retired cutler, William Nicholson, Norfolk Street, died on 21 December 1823.  He was aged 62.