For those interested in snuff history and/or large scale industrial production - here an Excel table of eight commercially made snuffs from the early 19th century.
What is obvious are the huge parcel weights involved in the industrial production of snuff by a major London House. It brings to mind the difficulty that Mark Chaytor describes when, during the First World War, women had to take over from men and the great physical strain imposed upon them in stacking and turning heavy parcels at Sharrow Mills.
Other than tobacco and water the commonest liquoring agent is Pearl Ash (five snuffs), followed by Lime (four snuffs) and Common Salt (three snuffs). Alum is used in two snuffs and copperas, soda and salt tartar in one each. The simplest snuffs are Cuba Rappee and X Scotch.
For Violet Brown, two of the ingredients are measured in Trays rather than pounds, but the notes say that the total tobacco weight is equal to 1,850 lbs.
A local historian (Mrs. K. Hart, author of T is for Taddy) writes that Polhill’s Black Rappee (P.G Coarse) had been made by the Polhill family for over seventy years prior to 1831 when they ended the lease of their mill on the River Wandle, and therefore the recipe dates to around 1760, the year George III came to the throne. If correct, it comprises the earliest recipe in my possession where the date of origin is assured to within a year or so.
This from Ten Minutes Advice in Choosing Cigar … and Something About Snuff:
Tobacco, intended for snuff is piled up in great heaps, weighing frequently 3,000 lbs. and more. Having previously been moderately moistened with certain skilful preparations termed the cure, the heaps are suffered to remain, until, like all vegetable substances in a moist state, the natural heat is developed to an extent scarcely credible to those unaccustomed to the fact. Tobacco, by the above process is deprived of its peculiar natural oil, which, if not evaporated, would render the Snuff intoxicating and otherwise unpleasant. After remaining in these heaps from two to six months, the leaves are sent to the Snuff mills, and there ground, either coarse or fine according to the direction of the manufacturer.
Anon.
(It would be interesting to know how Sharrow now make the darker, coarser snuffs. In 1962, Mark Chaytor wrote that Wilsons of Sharrow’s attempts at making Rappee snuffs were unsuccessful and they gave up trying in order to concentrate solely on Brown Scotch types. For customers who wanted Rappee snuffs, Wilsons were obliged to purchase the same from London manufacturers such as Currey’s. During my snuff career it has only been relatively recently that they have ventured into Rappee-style snuffs when they took over responsibility for continuation of the Fribourg & Treyer brands.)
