Hello all. A good customer posed the following question to me the other day and I couldn’t sufficiently answer it. Maybe some of you could help him out. Thanks, Tom “I would like to know what snuffs are the closest thing to the snuffs used in the 18th century. Like fribourg and treyer bourdeaux. Is there one or more that are still being blended exactly like it was in say 1776? I am a history buff and snuff seems so 18th century like. I know this seems trivial but I am fairly new to snuff and would like that information”
That’s a very cool question. I also look forward to any information.
Well, what is the earliest known name brand snuff? In the US and Europe, maybe even still around today. In the US, isn’t it W.E. Garrett?
The earliest in the US is Levi Garrett.
Here is something I found on www.georgianindex.net. It describes some snuffs used during the Georgian period: Rappee: a cheap locally milled British snuff Princes: a black snuff, reputedly created for the Prince Regent to avoid brown stains on his black coat SP: Probably meaning Spanish Prize named for a naval battle off the shore of a Spanish port, Vigo, in 1702 in which Admiral Sir George Rooke captured Spanish galleons included a prize of a large quantity of snuff which was subsequently sold in London. Jockey Club: fine ground moist tobacco snuff with a sweet scent
A Schmaltzler perhaps? Saw Poeschl’s corporate video. They showed the vintage mill used for Schmaltzlers, whilst the announcer noted that more modern equipment was used for their regular Snuffs.
Pöschl was founded in 1902. Bernard’s was founded in 1733, so I think they would be a better choice. I’m not sure if any of their snuffs from the 1700’s still exist. Most of their snuffs are from early 1900 recipes. I’m not sure of their Schmalzlers.
Schmalzlers only date from the late 19th century. I reckon Civette Extrafein, Pariser Nr. 2, Alt Offenbacher Köstlich, Feinster Kownoer and Gekachelter Virginie (all from Bernard) are possibly more like earlier snuffs in Germany.
The Latakia Ao 1860, The Macuba, The Pompadour, The Prins Regent, The Hollandse Bolongaro, The Mentholin and The Potpourri No. 1 are all snuffs prepared by De Kralingse Snuif en Specerijen Compagnie according to the original receipes dating back to the 18th and 19th century. Jaap Bes.
That is why they are soooo good!
Cstoke’s list is a good layout definitely, Wilsons of Sharrow has been in business since 1737, and have safeguarded their snuff receipes ever since. I am a professional historian, and also like the asker of the question, became fascinated by this ancient way of enjoying tobacco. SP and Princes definitely go back beyond the turn of the 18th-19th century, and so does Carnation and Cafe Royale. Important is of course, also to enjoy pinching these wonderful blends from an original period snuff box! :o)
The anachronistic nature of snuffing is part of what made me interested in it, as well. As with all these things, “Everything old is new again”. We’re at least 30 years from Regency gear coming back. With any luck I won’t be around to see that.
Probably why I too like snuff, not only because it’s enjoyable (naturally), but it was the antiquity of it that lured me. I should probably also mention my biggest interest is obsolete technology; steam traction, woodgas, gas/arc/acetylene lighting, etc…
PhillipS should chime in here. He has quite extensive knowledge of snuff history!
Might be helpful to write some of the older companies and ask their input. Who knows what you might find out. Generally companies like to share their history and the history of their product (or then again it might be the beginning of another Levi/W.E. saga).
Since Fribourg & Treyer stopped making their black and brown rappee there are, I believe, no snuffs older than 1791 - despite claims to the contrary. The 1791 snuff refers to Harrison’s Kendal Brown Original still made according to the original recipe and made by Samuel Gawith. Old Paris is another old variety dating to the early 19th century. Princes is also old, but only dates from regency times . Wilson’s oldest available snuff is Queens (now called Best SP), but I suspect it has been much altered down the years. This from THE OLD SNUFF HOUSE OF FRIBOURG & TREYER by George Evans. "Snuff of the present day gives no idea of what it once was, and bears no comparison to that of former years. Its fragrance was derived by careful blending of snuffs made of various tobaccos, and not by the addition of scents or essences. Scented snuffs were sometimes taken, but the proportion was small in comparison to the quantity of unscented snuffs sold. Scented snuffs came more into vogue as the more refined varieties were dying out; the latter, as time went on and the demand for them lessened, were no longer made and are now unobtainable. Many of the numerous mixtures are now only names, and, though fine snuff could easily be made again, it would be almost impossible to reproduce some of these mixtures in their original form. "
I always look forward to reading your posting, PhillipS.
"I always look forward to reading your posting, PhillipS. " Thank you for your kind words. All I know of snuff (apart from taking it) is derived from various pamphlets, booklets, books and documents collected over the years together with past conversations with genuinely knowledgeable individuals whose veracity on the subject cannot be in doubt. Unfortunately the latter source of information is largely missing today: the shops of Fribourg & Treyer with their erudite staff are gone while the staff of G Smiths & Sons are clueless about the product they sell. On the subject of snuff history there is little doubt that the very worst and mot unscrupulous period of snuff making in Britain were mid-Victorian days. The chemist Arthur Hill Hassall was commissioned by ‘The Lancet’ to report on the chemical analysis of foodstuffs, beverages, tobaccos and snuff. Forty-tree samples of snuff were analysed and the complete report was published in 1855. Methods of snuff manufacture were also detailed. Few, if any, of these snuffs would come close to acceptability by today’s standards. Even in 1855 most snuffs were an infraction of the Tobacco Act. Powdered orris-root was substituted for tobacco in some mixtures. Large quantities of carbonates of potash and lime, oxide of iron and other chemicals were found. Chromate of lead amounting to 5% was detected in nine of the samples! On a more cheerful note here is an extract from the report on making snuff in the 1850s. “Snuff is met with in commerce in two states — namely, the dry and the moist. Of each of these there are several varieties, the characters that distinguish them depending, in most cases, upon differences in the processes of manufacture, in the relative proportion of the stalk and leaf, in the degree of moisture, in the flavour or pungency, and in the scenting. The dry snuffs are in general much more finely ground than the moist: the different kinds of Scotch, Irish, and Welsh are comprised under this head. The moist snuffs, of which there are a great many varieties, are known in the trade under the following names : — Brown and Black Rappee, John Bull, Hardham’s, 37, Princes, French and Dutch Carotte, Masulapatatn, Prince’s Mixture, Grand Cairo, and a great many others, which derive their names either from the fancy of the maker or the fashion of the day. Irish and Welsh snuffs are also dry snuffs; but before the stalks are reduced to powder, they are subjected to a roasting process in closed cylinders, which assists in imparting the peculiar smell by which these snuffs are characterised. These two varieties of dry snuff are ground in mills of a similar description to those employed. In the powdering of Scotch snuff’: limewater, and even powdered lime, frequently enters into the composition both of Welsh and Irish snuff. Indeed the addition of the former is allowed by the Excise laws. The most celebrated of the Irish snuffs is that manufactured by the firm of Lundy Foot and Co., of Dublin, and from which it takes its name. In the manufacture of the different varieties of snuff, the process adopted depends upon the kind required to be made. Scotch snuff, which is said to be the purest of all, is made almost entirely from the stalks of tobacco; and this being a dry snuff, as little moisture as possible is added—merely sufficient to prevent the finer particles from escaping and being lost in the act of powdering or grinding, which would otherwise occur. The stalks, cut up into small pieces are introduced into a kind of iron mortar or “raaW,” as it is termed. This is furnished with a pestle, heavily weighted, the handle of which is connected with a set of jointed arms or levers, so adjusted as to give it a peculiar rotary and grinding motion, this being the best calculated to effect the reduction of the stalks to powder. A series of twenty or thirty, or more, of these mortars or “ mulls” are arranged and fixed on a strong oak table, with similar machinery attached to the pestles of each, and all of which are capable of being worked at the same lime by means of a steam engine and connecting shafts and wheels. After the snuff has been reduced to the requisite degree of fineness, it is removed from the “ mulls,” and dried and flavoured according to a process peculiar to the different manufacturers. On account of the high duty, over 6s. per pound, to which foreign manufactured snuff is subject, but a very small quantity is ever imported and passed through the Custom House, as it can be made in England quite equal in quality to the foreign, and for less than half the duty charged upon the latter. Indeed, preference is in general given to English-made snuffs. The different varieties of the rappees or moist snuffs are likewise made chiefly from stalks, but a small proportion of the leaf is also introduced, as well as the finer parts and sittings of cut tobacco called “ smalls” which are too fine to be conveniently smoked in a pipe. The process followed in the manufacture of moist snuff’s different somewhat from that just described. The stalks cut into fragments, pieces of leaf, and smalls, are well moistened, and ground in a mill of the following construction : — A pair of very heavy cylindrical stones (in form like the common grindstone), six or eight feet in diameter, and a foot or eighteen inches thick, are set up on edge, parallel to each other, and a few inches apart, on a wooden slab or bed slightly hollowed out. These stones have a twofold motion given to them — a rotary one on their own horizontal axis, and a traversing rotary motion round the surface of the bed, similar to the two wheels of a carriage going round in a small circle ; this motion is communicated to them by means of an upright shaft driven by machinery. The ingredients for the snuff are placed upon the bed, and the broad edge of the massive stones passing repeatedly over them, combined with their rotarv, grinding motion, soon reduces them to powder. The construction and working of this kind of snuff* mill is the same as that used in making gunpowder, or for crushing the apples in the manufacture of cider. After the snuff has been reduced to the required degree of fineness, it is heaped up in a trough, and again moistened thoroughly, or “ sauced,” as it is termed, and allowed to remain a considerable time, by which means a certain degree of fermentation is induced ; it is turned with a shovel from time to time, and re-liquored as the moisture evaporates. The flavour of the snuff depends much upon the extent to which the fermentation is allowed to proceed ; this fermentive process also adds greatly to its depth of colour. After the snuff is thus far manufactured, the salts, or alkaline salts, allowed by the Excise regulations, are added. The suit is said to be chiefly employed to ensure the preservation of the snuff from mouldiness, and to cause it to retain its moisture; while the alkaline salts are used to increase its pungency; at the same time they add considerably to the weight of the snuff. In the scenting of snuffs, the perfumes used — either the essential oil of bergamot, or Otto of roses, and in some cases powdered orris root—are added after the snuffs are manufactured. The process adopted is as follows : — The snuff is spread out upon large skins or sheets of parchment, and the oils sprinkled over it from a bottle with slits cut in the cork ; the snuff is frequently turned over ; and lastly it is rubbed with the hand through a wire sieve. The only snuffs that are ever scented are brown and black rappee, Grand Cairo, and prince’s mixture, amongst the moist snuffs, and Scotch amongst the dry snuffs. The greater part of the snuff consumed in London is ground in snuff mills, situated near Mitcham, in Surrey, in consequence of the facility afforded for working the mills by means of the river Wandle, which runs through the town. There arc several of these establishments to which the London manufacturers send their snuff after having undergone a certain stage of preparation. Beyond the preparatory drying and grinding, it is said that nothing further is done to the snuff in the snuff mills; the proprietor not only prepares it before sending it to the mill, but in most cases passes it through some finishing operations after it is brought from the mill. Many of the London manufacturers have, however, small mills in their own establishments for grinding small quantities of snuff, or for passing the various kinds of fancy - through any particular process ; but there are very few establishments in London where the main bulk of the snuff is ground.“ ‘Food and its Adulterations’ by Arthur Hill Hassall
A lot of these old “fine snuffs” can be effectively reproduced whenever a demand for them exists. A lot of the seeds of the tobacco varieties used have been preserved in seed banks etc. Cultivation techniques etc. are all known. Some of these snuffs can be made with any good quality leaf with the right processing techniques.