A Pinch Of Snuff

Oh Snuff! our fashionable end and aim!
Strasburgh, Rappee, Dutch, Scotch! whate’er thy name!
Powder celestial! quintessence divine!
New joys entrance my soul, while thou art mine.
Who takes - who takes thee not? Where’er I range
I smell thy sweets from Pall Mall to the ‘Change.
By thee assisted, Ladies kill the day,
And breathe their scandal freely o’er their tea:
Nor less they prize thy virtues when in bed,
One pinch of thee revives the vapour’d head,
Removes the spleen, removes the qualmish fit,
And gives a brisker turn to female wit,
Warms in the nose, refreshes like the breeze,
Glows in the head, and tickles in the sneeze.
Without it, Tinsel, what would be thy lot?
What, but to strut neglected, and forgot.
What boots it for thee to have dipt thy hands.
In odours wafted from Arabian lands?
Ah! what avails thy scented solitaire,
Thy careless swing, and pertly-tripping air,
The crimson wash, that glows upon they face,
Thy modish hat, and coat that flames with lace!
In vain thy dress, in vain thy trimmings shine,
If the Parisian snuff-box be not thine.
Come to my nose, then, Snuff, nor come alone,
Bring Taste with thee, for taste is all thy own.

A Pinch Of Snuff - A poem published in Smoke Rings & Roundelays by Wilfred Partington.

A Pinch of Snuff was originally published in a book titled The Shrubs of Parnassus in 1760, written by J. Copywell, which was a pseudonym of William Woty.

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The Snuff Taker

…. before I budge an inch
I hail Aurora with a pinch;
After three cups of morning tea
A pinch most gratful is to me;
If then by chance the post arrive,
My fingers still the deeper dive.
When gallant Nelson gains his point,
I sink in deep to middle joint;
And soon as e’er the work he clinches,
Oh, then I take the pinch of pinches!
But if our heroes chance to fail,
I seldom go beyond the nail.
If I on ancient classics pore,
Or turn their learned pages o’er,
I take a pinch at every pause,
A tribute of my just applause.
Whene’er I dip in page historic,
Or pass an hour in wit with Yorick,
I relish more each paragraph
If season’d with a pinch and laugh.
Or if discussing subjects curious,
I revel in a pinch luxurious;
E’en joyous friends and claret rosy,
Insipid are sans pinches cosy.
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
My social box attends on me;
It warms my nose in winter’s snow,
Refreshes midst midsummer’s glow;
Of hunger sharp it blunts the edge,
And softens grief, as some allege.
Thus, eased of care or any stir,
I broach my freshest canister;
And freed from trouble, grief, or panic,
I pinch away in snuff balsamic;
For rich or poor, in peace or strife,
It smoothes the rugged path of life.

The Rev. W. King of Marlow 1788

Several other snuff related poems are included in books listed in the snuff book section

The Snuff Taker.

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A Pinch Of Snuff By Dean Snift of Brazen-Nose, published in 1840.

I’ve been on the lookout for ‘A Pinch Of Snuff’, (no, not the nasal snuff variety, but this time in book format!) for several months now. If you want to see a list of snuff related books, please check the Snuff Books section.

A Pinch Of Snuff is according to the inside cover, ‘Composed of Curious particulars and original anecdotes of snuff taking; as well as a review of snuff, snuff boxes, snuff shops, snuff takers and snuff papers; with the moral and physical effects of snuff.’

A Pinch Of Snuff was published in 1840 and sometimes can be found in the ebay snuff category or by searching through the amazon snuff books list.

I had been ‘pipped to the post’ on this particular snuff book on ebay snuff auctions several times, so set my maximum spend limit at £35.00.

I eventually ‘won’ (the word ‘won’ always makes me smile when using ebay - it’s almost like they want you to forget that you’ve paid hard earned cash for a item - ’whoo-hoo… I won… I WON!’) A Pinch Of Snuff at £31.34 plus £1.99 postage and packing, making a grand total of all the ‘threes’… To see the seller’s description whilst it’s still live click here.

My copy of A Pinch Of Snuff is a bit battered and dog eared - as you would expect for a book published in the 1840’s; it’s missing the fabric cover on the front and back, a few pages are stained, it has hand written notes in pencil and pen on a few pages and some of these have been rubbed out… I love it!

Inside cover of my copy of A Pinch Of Snuff.

The opening introduction is ‘To The Refined And Social Snuff Taker’; through the introduction, the author welcomes me to the world of snuff taking and makes me feel like I’m a member of an exclusive snuff taker’s club.

A Pinch Of Snuff has 152 pages of written word and few extra ‘blanks’ either side at the begining and end. The book has numerous illustrations and is divided up into the following sections and chapters;

Introduction
The Refined And Social Snuff-Taker.

A Pinch Of Snuff
Man A Snuffing Animal, Lady Snuffers, Introduction Of Tobacco (Nicot, Raleigh, Drake), The Pouncet Box, Sneezing Powder, Louis XIV, Papal Persecution Of Snuff, Restoration, Anne To George Era.

The Influence Of Snuff
Remedy For Headache And Weak Sight, Perfumed Snuff Injurious, Sneezing, Sociability, Sterne, Swift, Poetic Inspirations, Song.

Varieties Of Snuff
Rappee, Carotte, Montagne, Etrenne, Bureau, Bolangaro, Martinique, Princeza, Welsh, LuddyFoot’s Irish Blackguard, Lambkin’s Cork, Paris, Facon De Paris, Scotch, Masulipatam, Cephalic, Grimstone’s Eye Snuff, Lord Rochester, Natchitoches, Mathews, Hardham’s 37, Violet Strasburg, Queen Charlotte, Gillespie, Prince’s Mixture, Macouba, Latakia, Anstruther And Norcot Mixtures, Varieties, Snuff Monopoly In France, Process Of Snuff Making, Dutch And English Tobacco Merchants, Jesuits’ Snuff, Misstatements Corrected, A Snuff Song.

Snuff Shops, Signs And Papers
Fribourg And Treyer, Fribourg And Pontet, Pontet Junior, Watton, Harrison, The Skinners, Kilpack, Procter, Currey, Taylor, Beynon And Stocken, Hudson, Arnet, Pain, Edwards, Highlanders, Black Boys, Female Figure, Quaint Device, Snuff Paper, Charades.

Snuff Boxes
Inappropriate Receptacles, French Taste, Chinese Fox Hunt, Laurence Kirk, James Sandy, Cumnoc, Curious Boxes, Sarcophagus, Robert Burns, William Pitt, Duke Of Gloucester, Napoleon And Louis XVIII, Gold Wicker, Diamonds, Hogarth, Mulberry Tree, Platoff, Moorish Box, Nelson’s Coffin, Emperor Of Austria, Ninety-Second Mull, Song.

Snuff Taking
Snuff A Tell-Tale, Duchesse De Berri, Nose Hunger, Stolen Pinch, Pledging In Snuff, Sneezing, Catullus, Cowley, An-Upset, Robbery, Madness, Execution, How To Smooth Snuff, Stage Snuff, Test Of Love, A Taker’s Courtesy, Ma Tabatiera, Longevity, A Black Pinch, Surrender To Snuff, Pupil’s Bribery, A Disinfector, Bloomfield, Late Sittings, Deliberate Aim, Extract, Airing Snuff, Attitiudes, Noses “Bottle, Grecian, Snub or Roman”, The Handkerchief, Patterns, A Slip Of The Tongue.

Snuff Takers
George IV, King Of Hanover, Dukes Of Cambridge and Sussex, Princess Hesse Homburg, Dukes Of Devonshire And Buccleuch, Marquis Of Ely, Lords Alvanley, Airlie, Arbuthnot, Panmure and Abercrombie, Louis XVIII, Duke Of Orleans, Frederick The Great, Mr’s Siddons, John Kemble, Brummel, Sir Henry Cooke, Theatrical Touchstone, Dramatic Sensor, Steevens The Commentator, Count Boralowski, Donald Macpherson, Earl Of Harrington, Prince Talleyrand, Prince Metternich, Napoleon, Lady Holland, Acrostic.

The book finishes with a acrostic snuff poem titled My Pinch Of Snuff, which I will share at a later date.

Well that’s about it for my most recently purchased snuff book. I will add snippets from A Pinch Of Snuff occasionally to this news blog.

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To My Nose

Knows he that never took a pinch,
Nosey! the pleasure thence which flows?
Knows he the titillating joy
Which my nose knows?

Oh, nose! I am as fond of thee
As any mountain of its snows!
I gaze on thee, and feel that pride
A Roman knows!

Anonymous

To My Nose is printed in a book titled ’A Pinch Of Snuff’ By Dean Snift published in 1840 and sometimes can be found for sale online - see the Snuff Books section for details.

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The Blessings Of Snuff is a poem I stumbled upon a while back, whilst searching for snuff related material for this news blog.

The below is taken from information found on the Isle Of Man website.

John Frissell Crellin, Esq., was a connoisseur in snuff, and quite at a loss if by accident he happened to be unprovided with his favourite. Once, when on the bench at Castletown, he had forgotten his snuff box, on perceiving which, he despatched a message for it, and before its arrival wrote the following lines :-

The Blessings Of Snuff

You boast of the pleasures that friendship bestows,
And tell me it drives away care,
That it softens our sorrows, assuages our woes,
And blunts e’en the stings of despair.
I too have a friend, that can always impart
Enjoyments and comforts enough,
For, obtained, is the fondest desire of my heart,
When blest with abundance of snuff.

If heaven, in its wisdom, sends sources of grief,
I’m thankful the stock is no more;
I first take a pinch, and my heart finds relief,
Then I sneeze, and my troubles are o’er.

‘Tis thus I with fortitude brave every storm,
When the winds of affliction blow rough;
Let the fugitive evil assume any form,
So it be not a famine of snuff.

In search after happiness men are perplexed,
But few can the goddess obtain;
Some place her in this world, and some in the next,
But the wisest conjectures are vain.

They may tell you the nymph loves the glitter of gold,
And dwells with the miser–such stuff!
No; my pocket has always been found her stronghold,
And her palace, a box of good snuff.

The lawyer so graye, ere he opens his plea,
In obscurity finds it is hid;
But the bright gloss of knowledge illumines his face,
As he gives the three taps on the lid.

E’en the judge on the bench hears the sound with delight,
Be his countenance ever so gruff;
He bids the stern sentence of judgment take flight,
And mercy inhales with the snuff.

Why then should poor mortals ever despair,
Or suffer from any rebuff,
When to free themselves quickly from all sorts of ease,
The infallible remedy’s snuff?

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Once upon a time when pigs spoke rhyme
And monkeys chewed tobacco,
And hens took snuff to make them tough,
And ducks went quack, quack, quack, O!

This is the rhyme at the beginning of the children’s fairy tale Three Little Pigs. I’m currently reading this to one of my sons as a bedtime story - it never fails to make me smile when reading it aloud!

Did a bit of research on it, it seems it was / is common to put a catchy rhyme at the beginning of traditional folk tales / fairy tales, to grab the listener’s attention. 

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The Snuff Box

A snuff box once was made
By King Frederick the Great,
Who carved it from a walnut log
Which made the box prideful agog.

A wood worm, smelling walnut chip,
came crawling at its fastest clip.
The snuff box spoke in tedious rhymes
About this Frederick and his times.

It praised Old Fritz’ generosity,
Which heightened the worm’s nervosity.
And drilling away said the maverick:
“I don’t give a damn about Frederick!”

Translated from German into English by Ernest A. Seemann
Die Schnupftabaksdose by Joachim Ringelnatz.

Die Schnupftabaksdose

Es war eine Schnupftabaksdose
Die hatte Friedrich der Große
Sich selbst geschnitzt aus Nußbaumholz
Und darauf war sie natürlich stolz.

Da kam ein Holzwurm gekrochen
Der hatte Nußbaum gerochen
Die Dose erzählte ihm lang und breit
Vom Friedrich dem Großen und seiner Zeit

Sie nannte den alten Fritz generös
Da aber wurde der Holzwurm nervös
Und sagte, indem er zu bohren begann:
“Was geht mich Friedrich der Große an!”

Die Schnupftabaksdose by Joachim Ringelnatz.

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