A short article from the ‘New York Times’ 24th April 1921 on the Fribourg & Treyer shop in the Haymarket, one year after Fribourg’s bi-centenary in business. "I imagine that very few Americans visiting London fail to visit and contemplate the old snuff shop of Fribourg Treyer at 34 Havmarket. It is a perfect survival of early Georgian or late Queen Anne London, and you see it today as it was seen by Pope and Swift … “ http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?\_r=1&res=9C01EFD7113FE432A25757C2A9629C946095D6CF Before the shop shut for good in December 1981 it was still a perfect survival of early Georgian London. The closure by Imperial Philistines was for pecuniary reasons, but amounted to little less than cultural vandalism. It was, after all, London’s oldest surviving shop and of interest to tourists as well as a Mecca to the snuff-taker. The rights and recipes of its snuffs were thereafter sold to Wilson’s of Sharrow (as most people here are aware) and the pipe tobaccos to Kohlhase, Kopp und Co in Germany. The premises became home to a truly hideous London souvenir shop, selling all sorts of miscellaneous rubbish made in the Far East. Does anyone reading this remember the famous London house and the very knowledgeable Jim Palmer, the last shop manager?
What a shame. Wish I could have visited the place before it went under.
What a great piece of history, I always enjoy reading these posts. PhilipS did you actually visit the shop while still alive? Ever met the last known store manager? It seems the Haymarket was not its last known placein London they’ve moved the shop to Regent Street before finnal closure. Is this the shop you are talking about? 
I am not from UK but definitely have a few precise destinations in the UK when I will be able to visit 
That looks like the photos I’ve seen of the Haymarket location. The 34 is the right address.
“Is this the shop you are talking about?” Yes, Andrei, it is. They had shops in London, Oxford and Cambridge, but this was the oldest and most famous and the only one of the chain I ever visited. Located in the busy Haymarket it attracted plenty of attention from the curious. The man in your photograph is standing close to the old ledger desk adjacent to the polished counter on the right-hand side as you enter. The last time I was there was exactly one year before the shop closed. You were free to sample all the snuffs and they stocked a large range of snuffboxes, hankies, spoons as well as pipes, pipe tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. Snuff could also be bought loose in the quantity of your choice from large jars. Interesting books on tobacco, snuff and snuffboxes and booklets were also available. This what it looks like now. The only remaining clue as to its former identity is in the bow window on the right. The etching on the glass panel (second from top, third along) reads, in elegant lettering, ‘Fribourg & Treyer Tobacconists to HIS MAJESTY* and purveyors of FOREIGN SNUFF’. In old photographs this particular etched pane appears in another part of the window. *George IV
Yes it is in the Second Row from the Bottom Third one over in the older picture. Pretty cool that they kept the glass pane.
And here is another picture, this time from a postcard circa 1910.
There is truly nothing sacred any more. Same sort of thing happened to my favourite store in Victoria, B.C., a number of years ago, a tobacconist’s called E.A. Morris. Built in the late 1800’s, was in business for over a century then sold to a tourist trap outfit. It was like walking thru a portal in a time machine.
Time marches on I guess. Though it does bum me out that not only is a great institution gone but that it’s replaced by the most banal useless crap store that any retartd could have decieded to open.
Wal-Mart?
History is my love, and the loss of history is my bain. I was thinking the British Gov. would have made the sight a historical land mark, however, got to thinking: in a country as old as they, 300 years is a drop in the bucket. Reading that they allowed you to sample the snuffs in store is rather interesting, it could have saved me bying all that F&T that simply makes me ill.
I think they sell food and have a pharmacy making them somewhat usefull. I think Walmart is more like the devil though to lighten things up some people around here call it walmark.
Wal-Mart isn’t the devil, but it IS Satan’s global chain of dept. stores corporation. That’s why they use the smiley face logo.
Shamefully, I must confess that I have shopped at Wal-Mart due to the low rices and convenience. I detest the stores tho, they have terrible customer service and they’ve really stuck it to small businesses. And “no”, you may not see my receipt as I’m leaving, I’m not a shoplifter so bugger off with that highliter and step out of my way. I hate stores that do that, its like an insult.
Ah no biggie on that spyro. I shop there sometimes. What gets me are the people who could easily afford to chose where they shop that shop there for things they could easily get else where, well if they feel that the place is bad that is.