Having served in the Royal Marines during the Napoleonic Wars, in 1816, John Whitchurch Bennett began a career in the civil service in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Travelling to the island with his wife, he served in numerous junior posts before becoming magistrate at Galle and Hambantota. In his leisure time, Bennett took an interest in the natural history of the Indian Ocean and drew pictures of various fish he observed. Each of his illustrations was drawn from life and ‘as far as his colours permitted, imitated [the fishes] various hues’.
Although making his drawings principally for his own pleasure, in 1825, Bennett approached the Literary and Agricultural Society of Ceylon with a proposal to publish by subscription a selection of them with an accompanying letterpress, written with the assistance of Thomas Hardwicke (1756-1835). Published in parts between 1828 and 1830, the work was dedicated to George IV and offered naturalists in Britain vibrant depictions of Indian Ocean fishes. In the descriptions of each fish, Bennett offered both scientific and Sinhala names alongside an English translation where available.
In 1827, Bennett returned to London in the midst of accusations of financial mismanagement in Ceylon, unsuccessfully petitioning Parliament in 1830 to open an investigation into the conduct of the governor, Sir Edward Barnes.