Jacobite vs "whatever they call them" ways of taking snuff

I was chatting with a professor who’d been a fellow at an Oxford college recently and he said that there was a distinctive way that the Jacobites took snuff, as opposed to that supported the current dynasty. Does anyone know the difference?

I’ve never seen a reference to a Jacobite method of taking snuff - this could refer to the common practice of carrying a snuff ‘mull’ - a small hollowed out horn tip, usually rams horn. These were carried by the better off Scot of the day and rarely in England, so it might be related to that.

There are comparatively few written, historical sources about snuff - a small number of books and pamphlets long out of print (although some are now on line) - and it can be difficult if not impossible to verify points like this especially if the reference only occurs once or twice in the body of the extant literature.

Anyone else?

If the historians had only known that there would come a time when some people, granted…very few in sht scheme of things, would be so interested in snuff history :slight_smile:

200 years from now they may refer to us as a snuff cult…lol

I found these, and as Snuffster indicated, they would have belonged to some one that was better off than the average Scot

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/18906/lot/378/

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19606/lot/145/

http://www.millersantiquesguide.com/items/16456/a-fine-and-rare-jacobite-snuff-box-with-partial-pseudo-/

I think that the question refers to the freemasonry. I don’t know if this also connected with the Stuart Freemasonry, but from I did learn from a book on the Polish Freemasonry, the hand should form a steel square.

Snuff Cult! I kind of like that! You guys can call me squeaky at the meetings. We need to work on that handshake more though. I like the Druid outfits. The reenactments are gonna be akward though. I guess the handkerchiefs were a dead giveaway.

My favoured apparel is a druid outfit. I wear it whenever I want a pinch of snuff.

In this cult, i believe the Kool-Aid packet is mixed directly into the snuff.

Does anybody really care ? Perhaps they put it on a stick and shoved it…

Lets all have a moment of snuffing and give thanks to the great snuff spirit for providing us with the variety of scents that thrill our lives with pleasure. Ahchoo sniffle sniffle

Hmm… Interesting discussion.  Apparently there was some sort of overlap between the Jacobite movement and Freemasonry, but the historical “information” I’ve read contains more speculation than fact.

On a related note, I noticed that there are a lot of vintage and antique snuffboxes (mostly of English or Scottish origin) offered on eBay that are decorated with Masonic symbols.  I wondered if that is merely an indicator of the popularity of snuff in previous eras, or if snuff-taking or snuffboxes have some special significance to Freemasons.  I suppose I will never know for sure.

The Jacobites spent a lot of time in exile in Rome and Paris. Perhaps it is a reference to some technique with a continental flourish.

@PipenSnusnSnuff I suspect your first idea is the right one - as far as I know (twenty years a Mason) there isn’t a connection with snuff, except that it’s always entertaining to produce some at the dinner after a meeting.

As I’ve said ealier there was a connection bettwen freemasonry and snuff taking. Here’s the way how they did it, from an XIX century Polish book (I don’t remeber the title, but it’s one of my favorite materials for my book about snuff taking in Poland, that I’m still working on). I do hope my translation will be clear…

“When you are teated with snuff or you treat someone, tap your snuffbox three times (the fingers and the hand should be streched so, that one finger and another should form a steel square). When taking snuff, three times clearly (but not loud), pull it into the nostrils. When you want to blow out your nose, pull the right arm with a handkerchief, as if it developing, drain to the ground so that it would a steel square express.”

That makes sense - it’s not a bit of ritual, and the snuff is incidental - it’s all about symbolism. The three taps/three sniffs equate to the pattern of knocks on the door of the lodge, which signals who is trying to get in, and the square - as in set square - is one of the basic masonic symbols. In other words, it is a way of suggesting to someone that you are a Freemason in the hope that they might respond. Personally, I find it easier just to ask people, but this could be a bit more entertaining, I suppose!

and mason are seen a lot more like eccentics these days a lot less likeily to be considered criminals and the like. So I guess asking is easier these days.

This is quite interesting, but I suspect there might still be something else. After all, the Jacobites used to toast the King “over the water”, by holding their drink over a glass of water. But it might be nought.

If the Jacobites were associated with the Freemasons, then perhaps they are talking about the boxcar method. There are similarities between the boxcar method and the Masonic secret handshake.

That’s all I’m allowed to say about it! ;->

Anybody who was never a Freemason and knows the handshake might want to elucidate…