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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 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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