Snuff By Terry Pratchett

Snuff is the 39th novel in the Discworld series written by Sir Terry Pratchett.

Being personally an avid reader of Terry Pratchett’s Discword series, I was like a ‘kid in a sweetie shop’, (or should that be an ’adult in a snuff shop’?!) when I saw the newest title in the DiscWorld series being advertised in our local bookshop!

Snuff by Sir Terry Pratchett is due to be launched and published on 13 October 2011 in the United Kingdom and I for one cannot wait!

You can therefore perhaps imagine my delight, when we received an email in to Snuff Store, asking if we’d help with a ’special assignment’ in relation to the launch party of the new book Snuff. Little did I realise that our humble snuff emporium was thought of in such high regard!

Of course it is our pleasure to assist with such a honourable task; hopefully very shortly, selected guests and perhaps some of our esteemed customers and friends with be able to sample the delights of such nose fancies as;

Bewilderforce Gumption’s Sweet Raspberry Snuff as well as his intriguingly named Double Thunder Snuff!

Sweet Raspberry Snuff is described as; an aromatic snuff with fruit overtones and finely ground.
Double Thunder Snuff is described as; A robust snuff coarse ground with a full vigorous flavour.

That’s about all I can tell you for now, although I’m itching to tell you more, so watch this space. If you’re a Discworld fan like I, then maybe you’ll want to reserve your copy of the new Snuff book by Terry Pratchett by following this link - Snuff.

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A Pinch Of Snuff is a story attributed to Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov.

Snuff and snuff taking is mentioned in several other Jewish stories and teachings, more will follow shortly.

A PINCH OF SNUFF

And then there was the time that a poor man named Reb Shmuel came with a group of beggars to collect charity at the shule of the Baal Shem Tov. The shammos (caretaker) of the shule gave each beggar a few coins but the poor man declined.

“No, thank you,” said Reb Shmuel, “I want to speak to the Baal Shem Tov.”

“Let me ask the Rebbe,” said the shammos. The shammos returned and offered the poor man a larger sum of money.

Reb Shmuel responded, “No, thank you, I only want to meet with the Baal Shem Tov.”

After the shammos related what happened, Reb Shmuel was invited in to meet with the Baal Shem Tov.

“So,” said the Baal Shem Tov, closely studying the poor man, “you are not satisfied with my donation?”

“Rebbe,” responded Reb Shmuel, “I don’t want a donation. I’m not a beggar, just a poor man that is down on his luck. I used to be a very rich man and was known as a baal tzedeka (philanthropist) that often helped people get started again if they had a business setback. Every Shabbos and Yom Tov my table was surrounded by poor people and wanderers. I had a large, successful business. Then one day, everything changed. I lost all my wealth and finally had to resort to living as a wandering beggar. Rebbe, why did I lose my wealth and position so suddenly?”

The Baal Shem Tov thought for a while and said, “My dear friend, it’s just a pinch of snuff.” (In those days, sharing a pinch of snuff was common and considered to be of little financial consequence, like a mint today.)

“What do you mean, Rebbe?” said the poor man. “It’s not just a pinch of snuff. It’s my whole livelihood that’s gone. Can’t you see, I’m walking around in rags and I have holes in my boots.”

“You don’t understand,” answered the Baal Shem Tov, “I mean your loss of wealth was caused by a pinch of snuff. Do you remember one Shabbos when you were sitting at your table surrounded by many guests and you took a pinch of snuff from your special jeweled, silver snuff box and then suddenly closed the snuff box?”

The poor man started to remember that fateful day as a clear vision of the incident flooded his memory. “Oh my G.d,” said the poor man to the Baal Shem Tov, “there was a poor wanderer sitting next to me. When he reached over to take a pinch of snuff from my special jeweled, silver snuff box, I closed it and said, ‘What’s wrong, isn’t that other snuff box I put on the table for my guests good enough for you to use?’ That poor wanderer turned red with embarrassment and didn’t say another word.”

“That’s exactly what I’m speaking of,” said the Baal Shem Tov. “That man had also been a rich man that was down on his fortune. He had been planning to ask you for a loan to get back on his feet. But, he was so embarrassed by what you did that he just left without speaking to you. And just at that moment,” continued the Baal Shem Tov, “it was decreed in Heaven that you would change places with him. Your fortune would go to him and you would have to beg from door to door as he had.”

“Oh Rebbe, now I remember so clearly, moaned the poor man. From that day, all my business ventures failed and I lost everything until I reached the state that I’m in, having to wander and beg. Oh, what I wouldn’t do to take back that thoughtless act. Rebbe, is there anything I can do to change my situation?”

The Baal Shem Tov closed his eyes and thought. After a long pause he said, “Well, if you were to approach that beggar turned rich man and ask him for a pinch of snuff and he would refuse you, then your fortunes would again be reversed.”

The poor man immediately left and started to wander looking for that man with whom he had changed places. After many months, he came to a town that was buzzing with preparations being made for a big wedding. He learned that the bride was the daughter of a very rich man. A huge banquet was planned for the wedding and everyone in the town was invited. The poor man went to shule to catch a glimpse of the rich man. At first he didn’t recognize him because of his fancy clothes and new stature. But, finally the poor man realized, “Oh my G.d, that’s him!”

The poor man began to plot a plan as to when to confront the rich man and ask him for a pinch of snuff. He decided to wait until just the right time, the night of the wedding.

At last, the night of the wedding arrived. It was a huge celebration as only such a rich man could afford. After the wedding ceremony, everyone was in the banquet hall eating and drinking and dancing. And right in the middle of the party, the rich man was dancing surrounded by his friends and well wishers. Just at that moment, the poor man broke through the crowd and approached the rich man.

“Excuse me,” he said to the exuberant rich man, “could I please bother you for a pinch of snuff?”

The rich man, immediately broke away from the other dancer’s and took out his jeweled, silver snuff box and offered the poor man a pinch of snuff. The poor man fell down in a swoon. Everyone started to run over to see what happened. The rich man told them, “Move back, give him air!” Then he said to the poor man with great concern in his voice, “What’s wrong? Do want a drink? What can I do for you?”

The poor man started to cry. “Why did you give me the snuff? If you had just refused, I’d be rich again,” continued the poor man. Then he told the rich man the whole story of how they changed places.

“Oh yes, I remember that day. And it is true, from that day on, everything I touched turned to gold. I became richer and richer. It almost seemed to be heaven sent. In some way you are my benefactor and I’m not going to let you suffer any more. Your wandering days are over. I have a great idea. Why don’t you join me in the business? There’s much more than I can handle by myself. You can move your family to this town and we can work together.”

And so it was.

Freely adapted from a story in NOTZER CHESED as translated in STORIES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV by Y.Y. Klapholtz.

Rabbi Gershon S. Caudill

As for me, I vow to continue to offer a pinch of snuff to anyone who asks!

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Snuff Tobacco story, is a joke that’s posted on several websites, so it’s difficult to attribute the snuff story to any one site. I do however like the entry on The Shooter’s Pub website, who claim the snuff tobacco joke is originally theirs - who am I to argue..?!

What needs to be accepted when reading this snuff joke / story, is that in times past, very often pubs would leave snuff out on the bar for customers to use. This practice has long since gone out of fashion - probably due to legal reasons. Anyhow, below is the snuff joke - visit The Shooter’s Pub for more.

One fine summer’s evening, the landlord, George, was pottering about getting ready to open up, when he noticed that the snuff box was empty. He went to fill it from his stock cupboard, and remembered that he’d run out the week before and forgotten to re-stock. Just another tribulation in the life of a landlord. He knew what this would lead to: shouts of “Idle Bastard” from the regulars, even the ones that didn’t take snuff. The fact that generations of regulars from 1660 to the present day called the landlord an idle bastard was no consolation. Wearily, he dragged out his old broom to sweep the outside of the pub, something he hadn’t had time to do for weeks.

While sweeping outside, the broom knocked against a dried-up dog turd, which crumbled on impact. He had a brilliant idea. It would be a quiet night, probably no snuff takers, the pot only had to look full. He took the turd inside, ground it up, and filled the snuff box.

Sod’s Law decreed that the first customer was Harry – an habitual snuff taker. “Pint please, George,” he shouted, and took a pinch of snuff. George put the pint in front of Harry, waiting for the explosion. “Bloody Hell,” says Harry, “has thee had a dog in here? There’s a bloody strong smell of dog shit.” He checked his boots and looked around him. George denied there was any smell of course, and Harry eventually started supping his pint.

Next in was Arthur. “Evening Harry, pint please George”, and helped himself to a pinch of snuff. “By ‘eck, there’s a strong smell of dog shit around here.” “Aye,” said Harry, “Aa thowt that.” So they both started checking out the well-scrubbed stone floor. While they were at it, old Tom wandered in. “What’s occurring here?” he asked. The lads told him the score and the three of them carried on looking, although Tom kept telling them he couldn’t smell owt odd.

Eventually they gave up the search. Tom asked George for a pint and took a pinch of snuff, “Hell fire,” he cried, “yon’s bloody good snuff George, I can fair smell that dog shit now!”

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Snuff legend and lore brings us a dastardly tale of Jesuits’ Snuff…

Jesuits’ Snuff

Scented snuffs were sometimes made to conceal poison.

In 1712, the Duc de Noailles presented the Dauphiness of France with a box of Spanish snuff, a luxury in which she delighted. It was charged with poison, which she inhaled; and five days after receiving the gift she died, complaining of sharp pain in the temples.

This excited much attention, and great fear prevailed of “accepting a pinch” on the one hand and offering it on the other. It became a general belief that such poisoned snuff was used in Spain, and by Spanish emissaries, to clear away political opponents, and that the Jesuits also adopted it for the purpose of secretly poisoning their enemies.

Hence it was termed “Jesuits’ Snuff”, and a great dread of it was felt for a considerable time.

Another instance of the fatal use of snuff is to be found in an anecdote of the Duc de Bourbon, grandson of the great Conde.

He took Santeuil the poet to a great entertainment, compelled him to drink a large quantity of champagne, and ultimately poured his snuff-box, filled with Spanish snuff into the poet’s wine.

This produced a violent fever, of which Santeuil died, amid excruciating agonies, within fourteen hours.

The above account of Jesuits’ Snuff has been taken from Tobacco Talk & Smokers’ Gossip.

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As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve managed to get hold of a copy of ‘A Pinch Of Snuff’, which is sometimes available via sources I’ve listed in the Snuff Books section of the site.

A Pinch Of Snuff gives details of signs and figures used by tobacconists in the 1840’s to advertise their wares.

It describes The Highlander figure, and then goes on to describe the below image which was used by a tobacconist in Bridgewater. This was also used on wrapping paper with the description as below.

The sign in my opinion is one of the best snuff shop signs that I’ve seen.

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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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Snuff by Ursula Bourne, a 32 page book packed with information on snuff with over 40 illustrations; is now available through Snuff Store.

On the back cover of Snuff, the publisher gives a short description of the snuff book’s contents.

‘A surprising number of people in Britain take snuff regularly, though proportionally far fewer than a hundred years ago. There are still many varieties of snuff available from specialist tobacco shops. In common with many other habits, snuff-taking was accompanied by a range of accessories which are illustrated in this book. A snuffer needed a snuff box of one or two compartments to carry his snuff around, and if he used a bottle he would also need a spoon, a handkerchief and other items. He even needed to know the etiquette of indulging the habit to the best effect for himself while causing the least offence to others. In this book the author explains how snuff first came to Europe, then to Britain, and its history to the present day. She describes how it is made, the firms famous in the trade and the names they gave to some of the infinite varieties they offered for sale or made up to individual requirements.’

Snuff by Ursula Bourne, contains chapters covering;

The history of snuff.
Snuff making and selling.
Snuff accessories.
Why take snuff?
Concludes with suggested further reading.

The snuff book is filled with interesting illustrations, some of which include snuff manufacturing, snuff shops, reproduction of images from antique snuff books and the like.

We have also linked several other snuff books here.

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Snuff Shop Story

I found a funny snuff shop article on the East Midlands Oral History Archive - here’s a link explaining about the East Midlands.

Anyway, the oral history archive is maintained by the University of Leicester as a joint project to conserve and develop oral history resources in the East Midlands.

In the transcript, the interviewee describes how she worked in a tobacco shop that sold snuff, she describes the smell of working in an old fashioned tobacco shop and how the local policeman played a trick on her, on her first day in the shop, over measuring of SP snuff.

“…we used to have a policeman come in, well he was my first customer, and he asked for these quarters of snuff because he took them for the police at the police station, and he always demanded to have it weighed up while he was there. So of course, I, he said quarters of snuff you see, so of course I went on measuring quarter pounds of snuff, and he stopped me on the third pack, and I remember it was the third quarter, and he said, “I think you’re wrong.” So my boss came in at that particular time, so she said, “What are you doing?” I said, “I’m measuring up the snuff for Mr Sheppard”, the policeman. So she said, “No, not quarter of pounds, quarter of ounces.”

You can listen to the recording and hear the lady talk about how the policeman pulled her leg for years over this ’snuff incident’.

To listen to the snuff shop lady, click snuff interview or click here to go directly to the page and read the full transcript.

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Found a lovely poster titled Gulliver’s Snuff Box, inspired by the book Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

In the left pocket we saw a huge silver chest, with a cover of the same metal, which we, the searchers, were not able to lift. We desired it should be opened, and one of us stepping into it, found himself up to the mid leg in a sort of dust, some part whereof flying up to our faces set us both a sneezing for several times together.

You can see the snuff poster in better detail if you click Gulliver’s Snuff Box.

I’ve added Gulliver’s Snuff Box image to my Christmas list!

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