A Brief History of Snuff

As with pipe tobacco, the origins of snuff go back to the observation by early European explorers of Native Americans sniffing a mysterious powder.  This powder was ground tobacco which gave a similar sort of “buzz” to that obtained when smoking tobacco.  Initially, snuff didn’t catch on in England to the extent that pipe smoking did, although it became popular in France and Spain, especially among the aristocracy.

When a Spanish convoy containing a large amount of snuff was captured by the English in 1702, a significant quantity found its way to London and the ports of the South coast.  From this date, snuff taking quickly grew in popularity, and was soon rivalling the pipe in its consumption.  A number of snuff mills were soon established where myriad snuffs were blended with all sorts of oils and crystals added to give a huge choice.

Snuff maintained its popularity until the middle of the 19th century when hand made cigars and cigarettes began to gain a foothold, and by the turn of century, the mass production capability of the new cigarette making machinery brought the price and convenience of cigarettes to the masses, and the popularity of snuff declined, and there are now relatively few snuff manufacturers in England.

With the recent ban on smoking in public places, and the no smoking policy on air travel, snuff is enjoying a bit of a renaissance as it is one of the few ways of taking a form of tobacco whilst obeying the smoking ban.  There are still a few traditional snuff manufacturers in this country including –

Wilsons & Co. of Sharrow Mills, Sheffield
Gawith Hoggarth of Kendal
Samuel Gawith of Kendal
McChrystals of Leicester