Here is a short quiz for which no prizes will be awarded. Some questions are very easy to answer and others (I hope) less so – especially if you are not from the UK. You might like add a quiz of your own to stretch the minds of fellow snuffers.
What was the favourite snuff of the wife of King George III?
What was her nickname?
Which British actor and avid snuff-taker (who died in 2006) was granted honorary membership of the Society of Snuff-Grinders, Blenders and Purveyors in the 1970s.
Which 20th century Chancellor of Germany was known for his snuff habit?
Which poet wrote a monologue to his snuffbox?
With whom did the diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord swap snuff boxes?
Which Admiral captured many hundreds of casks of Spanish snuff at Vigo Bay?
What did the Scottish Highlanders call snuff?
What snuff did the eccentric Margaret Thompson ask to be buried in after her death?
Which famous literary man carried his snuff loose in his leather-lined pockets?
In which London lane did Hogarth depict a sluttish mother letting her baby fall as she takes snuff?
Which famous prisoner reputedly ordered snuff from Fribourg & Treyer while confined to St. Helena?
Which snuff was sold in claret bottles with a long iron skewer at a guinea a bottle?
Which British monarch filled an entire room at Windsor Castle with snuff which was auctioned off after he died?
Which Prussian kept a different snuff-box on every mantelpiece in his palaces?
The anagram fmruainrk is for which raconteur and comedy writer who was known on British television for his inveterate snuff taking.
Which two British snuffs were listed in the 1960s Guinness Book of Records of the world’s most expensive?
This reminded me of The Great Snuff Historical Contest I hosted twice on top25snuff a couple of years ago.
The competition was demanding and the questions were arranged by me, snuffgrinder and snuffmiller. Nobody answered all the questions correctly. However, the people from snuffhouse won prizes for places 2 through 5 (at least for the first edition).
Has anyone taken up the challenge? Personally, I had a lot of fun and it was nice to be on this answering side for once. Although I could answer most of them from memory, question number 6 was quite challenging. I suspect that for No. 6 (and probably also 5) I have answers that were not the ones assumed
I thought that the first question was by far the trickiest, followed by No.13 both of which were, perhaps, a little unfair to include without the clues which follow.
Until Fribourg & Treyer closed both snuffs were still made under those names (but with modern spelling in the case of No.1). ‘Snuffy’ Charlotte repeatedly purchased the answer to No.1 in ten-pound jars. Also, with No.13 the snuff was originally from India which is a big clue.
Question No. 16 also deserves a clue: one of these two snuff-takers reveals the identity. In the good old days he sometimes appeared on television smoking a pipe but he was never without his gold snuffbox and was the last person I recall taking snuff on TV. Like Vivian Rose of Smith’s he was a thirty-pinches a day man.
The answers to two of these questions are identical which should make answering No.6 much easier. Talleyrand opined that all diplomats should take snuff to give them time to conceal their emotions and decide upon the right course of action.
Rather, in question 6, it can be considered that there are several correct answers, as the person of this French diplomat was in contact with many influential people. However, the difficulty - at least for me - was to find a suitable source that would confirm such an exchange (and I also tried for the person you are thinking of). A bit in defiance, I decided to find someone less obvious to confirm my original assumption.
The answer to question No.6 I read in a booklet by J&H Wilsons on famous snuff-takers and assumed (incorrectly) it was common knowledge. However, a suitable source to confirm this claim does not appear to be forthcoming so the question is withdrawn. Question No. 5 has several answers, any one of which scores correctly.
Nevertheless, I am curious about this anecdote relating to question number six. I had absolutely a lot of fun trying to find the answer in different languages (English, German, French) until finally I gave up and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to check it in Polish. How shocked I was to find the answer in an 1801 journal - referring to an actual exchange with Tsar Alexander (via the envoy Graff Markov). As a challenge, I encourage others to find any other exchange with other historical figures (although I have been close to finding such an exchange in literature as well).
As the first to answer everything, do I now have the right to add more questions?
But I know the answer to Q3 straight off and hope I’m not giving away too much and spoiling things for others. Many years ago when visiting Regensburg I bought some ultra-fresh from a tobacconist. In those days, like all Bernard snuffs, it used to be wrapped in aluminium foil covered in paper. It was unevenly textured with small pieces of midrib clearly visible. Later it was available in jars and quite fine-grained. Although the Bernard recipe dates to 1915 I don’t think the original recipe (which was a proprietary secret of ******* situated in the city of ****) would have been the same. Only the name is retained.
As for Q1 you supplied the answer yourself in an earlier post which is nice, but I didn’t know the answer off-hand. I do now though
Q2 is tricky and I hope one doesn’t have to quickly learn the Czech tongue to find the answer.
The first question is a warm-up, but even without my post it’s not hard to find the answer.
I suspect question 2 will be easier once you get a hint. However, the hint will immediately lead you on the right track, so I’m not giving it out until someone asks.
As for number three, I am now wondering if we know the same etymology of the name
Does the answer to No.2 involve the letters B and M?
If not then a big clue is needed as a Czech lady friend of mine searched using her native tongue and couldn’t find a convincing answer any more than I could using English.
Civette was actually the name of a Paris tobacco shop in the 19th century, which developed a famous blend of snuff that became known by the same name - but I don’t think the original recipe (which was a proprietary secret) was the one Bernard had been using.
Number three is absolutely spot on. A very little known fact. At least it became clear that we know the same etymology.
As for number two, there are no letters B and M in the answer. To not make it too easy, let me just say that this character’s name has certainly been included in many biographies of one of the most famous Pole in history.
Right! Using your clue I’ve quickly read all the biographies of famous Poles and the answer is Wojciech Żywny (1756-1842). So, after nearly a year I’ve answered all three questions. Now, what’s my prize?
Żywny took snuff so fervently, that his nose, beard, white tie, vest and the lapels of his snuff-colour coat – everything was besmeared with snuff. It covered him down to his Hungarian shoes
So, I gave the right answer back in May last year. A German lady friend of mine from Hannover, who became a snuff aficionado on my account, toured Germany with me and we tried many Bernard snuffs. Being non-Schmalzler it was my favourite. The last time I bought it it came in little bottle rather than the foil and paper parcel and it was considerably finer and more evenly textured which suggests it had been made using modern machinery.
G. Smith & Sons Café Royale and F&T’s Santo Domingo.
The last two snuffs retailed at 16s 6d per oz in 1968. The best Imperial to Decimal calculator I found only runs up to 2017 when each snuff would have cost an eye-watering £14.54 an ounce.
Margaret Thompson who died in 1776 in London and was buried in Scotch snuff left to posterity what was probably the most bizarre will in history.
Bravo, he is mentioned many times in the biography of Frederic Chopin (being his teacher). As a curiosity, it is worth adding that several of them suggest that his nose was not purple only because of snuff, but also because of alcohol. However, I didn’t think this question would cause so much trouble.
The reward, of course, is knowledge - most importantly - and the first step towards becoming a snuff expert on the topic of snuff in Czechia. And also the opportunity to ask a few more questions
