[1] According to Thomas Blunt's January 1760 apprenticeship contract, his father, William, was a shoemaker in Barnes, Surrey.
Two of Blunt's sons, Edward and William, became members of the Spectacle Makers’ Guild as consequences of their father's membership.
Nairne was already established at 20 Cornhill, across the road from the Royal Exchange, and the partners continued business at that location.
Since a major task of a wife in those days was to tend the children, Thomas’ remarriage in 1788 suggests that Mary died only a short time before then.
All except Henry were mentioned in Thomas’ will, and there are no further records of the boy, suggesting that the son died young.
William appears to have trained with his father to some extent (he became a member of the Spectacle Makers’ Guild), but followed an academic and clerical path to become a well-regarded teacher at Merchant Taylors’ School.
Blunt's prestige in the optical community, evident by his elevation to Master in 1792, may have prompted him to split with Nairne and form his own company.