Along with colleague William Aspley, Smethwick was one of the "junior partners"[1] in the publishing syndicate that issued the First Folio collection of Shakespeare's plays in 1623.
He was the son of a London draper, and began a nine-year apprenticeship under a Thomas Newman at Christmas 1589 (though he was emancipated early by his master's widow).
Like Aspley, Smethwick enjoyed a career of unusual longevity: he became a "freeman" (a full member) of the Stationers Company on 17 January 1597,[2] and continued in business for more than four decades.
Two copyright holders, Aspley and Smethwick, chose to participate in the Folio project as partners with Blount and the Jaggards.
He published Sir David Murray's The Tragical Death of Sophonisba and Coelia in 1611, and an edition of Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde: Euphues' Golden Legacy in 1612.