Joseph Thomas Bennett (c.1832-1900) was born at Newcastle upon Tyne.  His early years are obscure, but by 1861 he was living at Chatham, with his wife Sarah Ann.  The Census described his profession as auctioneer, running ‘Bennett’s Travelling Cutlery Establishment’.  By 1868, he had moved to Sheffield and was listed as a cutlery and hardware dealer at 16 Waingate.  He lived at Leyland Villa, Nether Edge.  In the 1870s, his business address was 114 Rockingham Street, where by 1881 he employed one assistant.  An example of the cutlery he sold – a pearl horseman’s knife (courtesy of Frank Hudson) – is pictured.   By 1891, he had retired and later moved to Birkdale, Southport.  He died there on 17 October 1900, aged 68, leaving £9,266.  His wife, Sarah Ann, died less than three months later, aged 63.