A few questions: what so you guys think of Old Paris? Apparently it is flavoured with Arrack but I get no taste of dates (unlike SWS Thrice Brewed). I get the book stacks at the London Library, leather, shoe polish and linseed oil. It is growing on me a bit but smells foul out of the tin. Also has anyone got any knowledge of the original Fribourg Old Paris and Princes? How true are Wilson’s to the original? I really wish I could have been around when that shop was open.
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I really enjoy Old Paris and agree that the overall scent is not that of dates.
Your descriptors of old books, leather and linseed are quite accurate, IMO.
There also seems to be a light floral aspect … like the ghost of the old librarian. 
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Old Paris is a firm favourite of mine now.
The first few times that I tried it I was not very impressed, but like a few other snuffs that I now enjoy, it slowly revealed itself to be an excellent blend.
I also wish that I had visited the shop when it was in business. Unfortunately I only took to snuff relatively late in life, and so missed several opportunities to visit the place.
"has anyone got any knowledge of the original Fribourg Old Paris "
unless the odd tin or two of the original stuff turn up, I think we will be left to the honesty and integrity of the current recipe holder and manufacturer of the present day article, and hope that they are adhering to the original recipe as far as it is known, and as close as modern ingredients can get to it.
Beau Brummell was said to use Old Paris, and he died in 1840 aged 61, driven insane by syphilis.
I have found a newspaper article for the sale of Sir Thomas Clarges possessions by a Mr Creasby in Brighton, England, (UK) in May 1834.
The snuffs mentioned are… " a quantity of Old Scholten, and French Carotte, Old Paris and Masulipatum…"
So Old Paris dates back to at least 1834.
Unless a museum has any, or a tin is discovered in someones loft or basement etc. we will never know.
It might not be a bad thing in the end. We may find the original grinds, blending and ingredients way beyond our tastes, not to mention the hygiene practices of the original makers.
Oh I do wish that I had visited the shop when I had the chance.
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A curious thing about snuff and my nose is that I take my Old Paris inside a nice warm house and get one set of smells from it.
When I go outdoors The smells become more intense and differ slightly
It happens with quite a few snuffs. Plain tobacco snuff smells tend to disappear fairly quickly whilst indoors, but revive themselves when I go outside.
It would be interesting to see if this works for you, start indoors and after fifteen minutes take a stroll outdoors, and see if there is any change.
It may be the cool air temperatures affecting the nose, or possibly getting the blood circulation going faster, I have no idea really, but well worth giving it a try.
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Over twenty years ago, I found a tobacconist in Huntingdon which had old tins of Fribourg and Treyer. When i went back for more, he went to rummage out the back. Soon after, I moved to another part of the country but whenever a business trip took me anywhere near, I went to the shop and, with some reluctance, he would go out the back and bring out a few more tins, until the shop seemed to change hands and when i visited, it was very busy. When I found a tobacconist which sold Fribourg and Treyer and had a postal service, I was overjoyed and ordered some. When it arrived, I had one of the biggest disappointments of my life. The snuffs are very good, but they are nothing like the ones which I had. Wilsons ought not to sell them as Fribourg and Treyer. I have kept some of the old tins, mostly not opened, with several glass jars of Smiths’ Golden Carnival, which also came from the Huntingdon shop.The old snuffs are beautiful, and are the nearest thing to time travel, taking you instantly back to another age. That is just the aroma, before any snuffing! I shan’t go into the details, but they are entirely different from any snuff which is sold now. It would be wrong to use them because they can’t be replaced, and people would never believe how good they are.Anyone who is in Torquay at any time is welcome to pop round and have a smell, and perhaps a small pinch :-).
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" I shan’t go into the details, but they are entirely different from any snuff which is sold now."
If anyone would like to go into details, I’d love to hear them
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@johnguthrie I live in Kenton and work in Torquay… I might take you up on that!! I’d love to try some original F&T!
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Epitango. I refrained only because people would think it silly. However, on invitation, I shall. Whenever I have even just opened a tin and sniffed, I have felt myself in an old leather armchair, in a room of many books, the tick of the grandfather clock matched by the ticking of the watch in my waistcoat pocket. Outside, the tall window, there is the rumble of carriage wheels and the clatter of horses’ hooves. :-).
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guinessandsnuff. You would be very welcome. Let me know and I’d be happy to provide my details and we could agree a suitable time :-).
But that’s what I get from the current offering…
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Zanaspus Zanaspus. That is good. Perhaps I put it the wrong way round. With the best snuffs around, you can go back into the past; but the old ones are a bit of the past brought into this time.
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In for a bit then outside will always enhance the goodness when weather is cold and or damp.
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1860, A/P and San Domingo. All Bing back old school on a cold damp day.
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I don’t like it at all, it hits me in the throat and makes me gag for some reason. I had hoped that it would grow on me like everyone says, but it doesn’t. The tin smells better after being opened for a while, but it just doesn’t suit me as a snuff. Kind of want to like it but can’t, which seems to be the case with some of the other F&T snuffs (except Santo Domingo).
Old books and talc with a hint of dates is kind of what I got, which in itself is interesting.
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OP is one of F&Ts that I like, but I can see how it might be off-putting to others. I like that musty undertone to the perfume. Like Jockey Club, it’s probably a love it or hate it scent.
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