Tony Rose ( @tonyrose ) - none other than Vivian Rose’s son, who has just joined the forum, is very keen to find out any memories people have of his father. He and his sister are planning to write a book. He will post some contact details in this thread in due course, I think, but if anyone has stories to share then do please add them in below.
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Justin
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PhilipS
Mr. Rose - a very pleasant gentleman whom I first met in about 1965. He was, I believe, Britain’s only Jewish Snuffman…
Other than his extensive knowledge and obvious love of snuff (which he frequently took) the thing I remember most was the most irrelevant: his eyebrows. As he became older and his hair turned silver his eyebrows remained dark, rather like former chancellor Alistair Darling. This was particularly noticeable after his heart attack after which he was obliged to slow down.
His shop continued to stock the original (and superior) Fribourg & Treyer snuffs after the business folded in 1981. He was the author of the booklet ‘Make Friends with Snuff’ which was freely available from his shop and I still have my very tatty copy. Although uncredited, he also made a contribution to ‘The Manufacture of Snuff’ published by the Imperial Tobacco Group. Also, as at the Haymarket establishment, he would offer snuffs to sample.
I once took him a sample of Morlaix (the genuine French snuff) but he claimed that his Consort was superior although the latter was slightly scented. In fact he rather disdained foreign snuffs in favour of UK manufacturers.
He advised that horn was the best material for a snuffbox and sold me a flip-top example made in Germany. Although such boxes are sold now as antiques most of them were probably made in the last fifty years. In his own words he said that “You will always receive a courteous welcome at the Snuff Centre where you can sample our vintage snuffs”
The word ‘gentleman’ is all too often misused today. Invariably dressed in a pinstripe suit, Vivian Rose was always the perfect gentleman. That’s how he will be remembered.
[Edited to bring together several short posts.]
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Snuffbox
Is Vivian used as a man’s name in the UK? I was not aware of this and didn’t know what to make of the post in the Activity section. From the rest of your comments I would imagine Rose is not his family name either. Sounds like there is probably a story within a story. Will be eager to see how it unfolds.
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Abraxas
@Snuffbox - dual, although Vivian as a man’s name is now pretty much obsolete - it used to be regarded as a ‘posh’ name.
I met Vivian Rose many times. Going into Smiths was like stepping back into another time and Vivian was a great ambassador for snuff. Always helpful and charming and willing to chat about snuff and advise on the different types. I was just a scruffy student when I started going into Smiths but he treated me with as much respect as he did the wonderful old gentlemen - great characters - that were often in the shop chatting. There is an old clip of him on Youtube as part of segment on snuff box collecting.
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Snuffbox
@abraxas thank you. I was not aware of this.
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Trackerdex
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Trackerdex
I know the video well…marked it as a favorite months ago upon seeing it for the first time.
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Justin
Tony told me that he can remember the snuff party featured at the end of that video - it was filmed at his home!
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Graeme1
Here’s a nice memory of G. Smiths and Sons, established in London in 1869, and which changed its name to Smith the Snuff Blender Limited in 1969.
I bought this double sided sampler card, with 12 snuffs on each side in the very early 80s. The containers are made from plastic with some yellow tape around them to seal. I have never opened them.
It’s a very nice display.
Graeme
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Filek
I really like this pre-90s version of the packagings. And not only am I talking about the Smith discussed here, but for example Samuel Gawith had beautiful packaging during this period. Something bad must have been going on at English design colleges.
