Does anyone know the reasoning behind the names of any mysterious sounding snuffs. For example, which George is Royal George referring to? Who exactly is Tom Buck, Dr. Verey or Dr. J. Robertson Justice? Why otter-hound and Wild-duck? Was there a Packards club?..you get the gist 
Thanks…
One is easily answered:James Robertson Justice
Tom Buck, I’m still trying to track him down. I’ve taken Wilson’s Tom Buck snuff and have a pewter snuffbox bought on-line and described as having a Tom Buck seen. On Googleing I get nowhere.
I was reading the TV guide a minute ago and randomly came across a 1961 agatha christie, miss marple adaptation on TCM tonight called “Murder, She Said”. I though hey sounds pretty good I might watch that… I read the cast info and who should it star? James Robertson Justice!! Goes to show once you hear of a person you start seeing the name appear everywhere Oh and I found out that supposedly George IV is the prince-regent referred to in Princes snuff… As for Tom Buck, good look with the tracking.
I had heard that about KGIV. Apparantly while he was Prince Regent he wore black clothes and didn’t want snuff crumbs to show on them, so he had a black colored snuff commissioned. So we get Princes and Princes Special out of the deal. Also Toque St. Clement’s, which at first I thought might refer to clementines, is actually a reference to a nursery rhyme which begins ‘“Oranges and Lemons” say the bells of St. Clement’s.’ Which is a rhyme that makes Onomatopoeia out of the different patterns of church bell tunes. Subsequently a drink of orange juice and lemonade came from that. (All this I read on wikipedia).
I seem to recall reading somewhere that Tom Buck is a corruption on the Persian/Iranian word for tobacco though I can’t track down the reference. Or it might have been Turkish. Hmmm… need to keep digging for that one!
I sometimes think names are just made up. I showed the film El Sid, Rodrigo, the Great Spanish leader, when asking a Spanish pen friend about him, the answer came back; Never heard of him!
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“Tom Buck, I’m still trying to track him down. I’ve taken Wilson’s Tom Buck snuff and have a pewter snuffbox bought on-line and described as having a Tom Buck seen. On Googleing I get nowhere.” Tom Buck is named after the Anglo-Irish rake, spendthrift and hell-raiser Thomas ‘Buck’ Whaley 1766-1800
@ Snuff Head: El Cid is real enough. He’s imortalized in many medieval romantic heroic epics: El Cid@
With snuff names I’ve always assumed they where named after famous clients which had a preffrence for a certain snuff. Like an unoffical endorsement. My other answer no one will get is Tom buck is petes dad (that one is funny among my friends.).
many thanks ermtony,PhilipS & Xander I never thought of googling Thomas Buck. I’ll do that when I next have time.
I’ve managed to find various anecdotes about Thomas ‘Buck’ Whaley online but none of them involve snuff. I have found that tobacco in Urdu is tambaaku. Seems fairly compelling to me. I suspect the Buck Whaley source may have been a retro-fitted etymology.
Tony your last word, in your last sentence is etymology, at first glance I thought it was ermtony. That’s it I pursue no more, you are Tom Buck lol!
Ha, you’re right bigblue! I forgot all about that, I guess I have heard the rhyme before!
Tumbac!
Ive just read in C. W . Shepherds “Snuff: yesterday and today” that St. Clement Danes, in the Strand, London, is the church from the nursery rhyme mentioned above and it supposedly houses in a glass case, one of the earliest snuff boxes on presentation in this country, from 1686. With another one added in the 19th century. The church got destroyed in world war 2 but has been resurrected. Whether the snuff boxes are still there, the book doesnt say… And I havnt got the time to pay the £20 train fare and go have a look myself at the moment
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Ok Farley, you came up with the St. Clement’s name. I’ll give you credit as you are due. So what gave you the idea for the name? The rhyme or the drink? Anyway, I still feel proud of myself for researching the name and finding out on my own, so :-P~~