I attempted to answer a question via messaging regarding Grand Cairo snuff and submit a fuller answer here which may also interest others.
Which company first manufactured snuff under the name of Grand Cairo remains a mystery, but the name itself was doubtless chosen on a whim and likely has no relation to Egypt beyond the evocative name. The earliest recipe in my possession is by the London House of Taddy & Co and is classed as a Mixed Rappee (Martinique and Coarse Dutch) and flavoured with oil of Rhodium. The latter, according to Charles Lillie, came chiefly from Holland and has an aroma similar to Otto of Roses. Martinique, itself a mixture, contains 100 trays of Fine Dutch and 3 trays of Red Spanish Brick Dust – all liquored with Bay Salt. This doubtless explains why early sources describe Grand Cairo as a Red Rappee, perhaps reminiscent of the red sands of that ancient land.
Grand Cairo, introduced in 1984 by Mark Chaytor at Sharrow was one of eight new snuffs in the Grand Sharrow range and not, as I have said in ‘senior moments’, part of the 1977 Celebratory Range. Sharrow’s version does not contain Red Brick Dust (thank goodness) and is neither red in colour nor a rappee as claimed by Wilsons in earlier descriptions of this snuff. In fact I’m taking some of this refreshing ‘summer snuff’ right now.
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NOTE: The letter ‘P’ in the recipes refers to Polhill of Morden. The only difference between P.G and Single P is one of texture: P.G is filtered through a size 17 sieve while Single P uses a size 24 sieve.
While I think about it, the list of Primary Scotch snuffs made by Taddy & Co. includes six items. Of particular interest is the last snuff ‘P & J’. What do those letters mean? ‘Perfume & Jasmine’ perhaps! They actually refer to another snuff and tobacco manufacturer ‘Polhill & Jones’ of Morden. Based on the Primary snuff are ten Mixtures:
Polhill & J No.1.
P & J No.2.
Ditto No.3 etc.
The same snuff is also used in combination with Rutter’s Welch for High Dried. Among the Scotch Mixtures, meanwhile, is another snuff listed with the letters ‘S & W’. As revealed by the notes, these letters refer to ‘Saunders & Weatherall’ of Stockton. Another Scotch Mixture is listed as ‘W & D’ but the notes do not say to which company this refers. It likely refers to “Wright & Davies’ of Southwark as this business, listed in contemporary trade directories, is the only one which satisfies the letters for a snuff manufacturer. However, further evidence that snuff manufacturers were not averse to using the initials of another successful business for their own snuffs in the format ‘A & B’ seems superfluous.
Much more blatant is the manufacture of Gillespie’s (after James Gillespie of Edinburgh) and Austie’s (after John Austie of Devizes).
Gillespie’s and Austie’s snuffs were very popular products in the 18th century from which fortunes were made. Obviously Taddy & Co. sought to capitalise on their success by marketing their own imitations (the word ‘imitation’ is used in the notes) and sold under the same names which, it seems, could be done with impunity back then – much like ‘Kendal Brown’ was imitated by all the manufacturers in Kendal after Harrison’s original.
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Here are some notes regarding one Primary and two Mixtures (three if you include Austie’s) where Taddy & Co. manufacture snuff using the initials of other snuff manufacturers for their own versions. It seems that fingers were burnt when dipping into ‘P & J’ snuff. Formal recipes were only available for Primary snuffs, not Mixtures. Unfortunately I didn’t photograph the recipe for ‘P & J’ but below are some notes regarding the same.
‘P & J’ snuff by James Taddy. Before the receipt for this Primary Scotch was purchased from Polhill & Jones, Taddy & Co made an imitation of this snuff. Ironically the imitation they made ‘pleased better’ than the original ‘P & J’ which, it seems, they decided to discontinue. What they paid for the original is not stated but another recipe cost the company £2,000. However, the cost of ‘bad’ parcels would have easily exceeded £2,000 in financial damage to the company. To make matters worse, a significant proportion of Scotch Mixtures relied on the ‘P & J’ Primary.
The moral behind this tale of woe is that if your imitation sells well, either in a mixture or as a primary snuff, then don’t be greedy by coveting the original product. Thereafter Taddy & Co. used ‘P. or Polhill’s Scotch’ as the substitute Primary in lieu of ‘P & J’. I have the formal recipe for this snuff if anyone is interested.
As you can see, ‘S & W’ snuff is after ‘Saunders & Weatherall’ of Stockton. No.9 refers to Common Scotch (using tobacco not good enough for S.P.) while G refers to the mixing agent used to impart scent. It looks like a cheaper version of Queens, flavoured, as it is, with the usual lavender, bergamot and cinnamon. G, by the way, is a very coarse snuff which receives oils directly. Once absorbed it is mixed with the snuff to be flavoured and then filtered out. (Cuba Rappee, scented with Arrack, seems to be the only snuff which receives flavouring directly. I earlier posted the complete recipe for this Primary Rappee).
Taddy’s version of ‘W & D’ snuff is almost certainly after Wright & Davies of Southwark as that snuff and tobacco company is the only one in contemporary trade directories that match the initials. It’s listed as a Scotch Mixture and is a bizarre concoction of base snuffs flavoured with Pellitory of Spain. It is the only mixture to include High Dried snuff. To my mind this mixing looks all wrong, but it must have sold at some time and receives no criticism in the notes. Unusually, the junior partner who compiled these notes fails to state which coarse snuff was used.
I hope all this is of interest to some.
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