John Bennett (1746 - December 8, 1787) was an English map publisher. He was born in Derbyshire, the son of Tideswell shoemaker Samuel Bennett. He moved to London around 1761 to take work as a servant to the mapmaker Robert Sayer (1725 - 1794). In 1765, he became Sayer's formal apprentice. Bennett entered the Free Stationers guild on June 7, 1774. Bennett and Sayer continued to work together on the understanding that, in time, Bennett would acquire equity in the firm. This occurred in 1777, when the firm was renamed 'Sayer and Bennett'. For the next several years, they ran one of the most prolific map and printmaking firms in Europe. Bennett began to show signs of mental instability around 1781 and by 1783, was admitted to an asylum in Clapton. The causes are unknown, but mercury poising is a real possibility. Sayer petitioned to dissolve the partnership in 1784 and by 1785 there are no further publications bearing the 'Bennett' imprint. He died in Islington in 1787.



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