posted 07-14-2014 02:30 PM            

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SNUFF-BOXES AND SNUFF-BOX STORIES
By A. W. JARVIS

The English Illustrated Magazine
Volume XXVIII
October, 1902, to March, 1903

In the days of good Queen Anne the gallants were as proud of their jewelled boxes of amber, porcelain, ebony, agate, and a variety of other precious materials, as they were of their flowing wigs and clouded canes, The heads of the latter were constructed to hold the cherished dust, so that they could inhale it, through the perforated top, as they aired their finery in the park. We are told by courtly Dick Steele that a handsome snuff-box was as much an essential of " the fine gentleman" as his chariot, diamond ring, and brocade sword-knot. Manufactured of the costliest materials, heavy with gold, and brilliant with jewels, they were quite in keeping with the lavish style of dress affected by the dandies of the period who pranced about in huge wigs, worth forty or fifty guineas each, and wore enough Flanders lace on their dress to have stocked a stall in the New Exchange. Tom Brown, in his "Letters from the Dead to the Living," speaks of .. a flaming beau of the tirst magnitude, whose long lace cravat, reaching down to his waist, was most agreeably discoloured with snuff from top to bottom," and he describes the periwig " as large enough to have loaded a camel." Another satirist writes ;-

A wig that's full,
An empty skull,
A box of burgamot.

Pope, in his "Rape of the Lock," notes the use of the snuff-box as a luxurious appendage to the bon bon ;-

Sir Plume of amber snuff-box justly vain,
And the nice conduct of a clouded cane;
with earnest eyes, and round unthinking face,
He first the snuff-box open'd, then the case.

Nor was the use of the snuff-box confined to the sterner sex. As early as 1650 it was said-

She that with pure tobacco will not prime
Her nose, can he no lady of the time;

and, in 1712, the Spectator complained of snuff-taking as an impertinent custom adopted by fine women, and equally disgusting whether practiced sedately or coquettishly. Some only used the box as a means of displaying their pretty hands; but the thorough - paced woman of fashion pulled out her box in the middle of the sermon and freely offered her best Brazilian to friends of either sex, and asked the churchwarden to take a pinch as she dropped her money into the collecting-plate. Thus, for a time, the snuff-box was as much a part of " the fine lady's" toilet as the fan itself, and-

By snuff assisted, ladies killed the day,
And breathed their scandal freely o'er their tea.

Steele tells the story of a learned lady of his acquaintance whose use of the snuff-box once placed her in an awkward dilemma. One day she happened to have " a pretty fellow" hidden in her closet when some company called. She made an excuse to go there for something they were talking about. Her eager gallant snatched a kiss, but, being unused to snuff, some grains from her upper lip set him sneezing much to the astonishment of the visitors and the confusion of the lady.

More than once the snuff-box has played an important part in political life. After the banishment of Napoleon to Elba, and while the Bonapartists were plotting for his return, they used to till their boxes with snuff scented with violets - his favourite flower. When desirous of learning which side an individual favoured, they would offer a pinch and significantly ask, "Do you like this perfume?" Talleyrand always said that diplomatists ought to take snuff, as it afforded a pretext for delaying a reply and gave opportunities for covering any involuntary expression of emotion.

Benson Hill tells a snuff-box story in connection with William Pitt. It was at the time of the French Revolution, when its advocates denounced the Premier as "an enemy to the human race." His secretary one day told him that a foreigner had repeatedly called to see him, but not looking a proper applicant he had been sent away.

" Have the goodness," said the minister, " to open that top lefthand drawer in that cabinet, and bring me its contents."

These proved to be a brace of pistols and a morocco case containing a snuff-box in which a portrait was set.

"Is that like our visitor? " asked Mr. Pitt.

" It is the man, sir," replied the secretary.

" Ha! I have expected him for some days; he is sent over to assassinate me. When he calls again, let him be shown up."

Accordingly, the next time the man called he was ushered into the room where Pitt sat alone, a loaded pistol in one hand and the box in the other.

"Monsieur Mehee de la Touche," he said quite calmly, "you see I am, in every way, prepared for you-thanks to an agent employed by the Government. Attempt my life, and your own instantly pays forfeit. At best I shall have you secured and handed over to the law."

The intended assassin was dumb with amazement.

" But," continued Pitt, "there is another alternative; personal power and high rewards may be yours. Sell your secret services to Great Britain, and you will save yourself from speedy death and be liberally paid."

The miscreant at once accepted the offer, and for many years earned the bribe of a spy in our interests.

Snuff - boxes have always been favourite gifts both in official and in private life. At his coronation, George IV. spent over £8,000 on snuff-boxes for presentations to the foreign ministers. Though his Majesty always carried a box, it is said that he really took very little, allowing most of the powder to escape between his finger and thumb-a trick also practised by Napoleon.

Writing to his friend Mann, in 1750, Walpole tells a strange story of General Wade. The General, who does not appear to have been very particular as to the company he kept, possessed a very valuable box richly set with diamonds. One night he was playing at a low gaming-house, when be suddenly missed the box. Everybody denied having taken it, and so he insisted on searching the whole company. This he did, and only one man, who stood behind him, remained. He refused to be searched unless the General would go alone with him into another room. His request being granted, he confided to the General that he was born a gentleman, but was in reduced circumstances, living on what little he could pick up there, and by fragments which the waiters sometimes gave him. "At this moment," he said, " I have half a fowl in my pocket: I was afraid of being exposed. Here it is. Now, sir, you may search me." Wade who discovered that he had not lost the box at all, but inadvertently had placed it in a side pocket was so struck that he gave the man a hundred guineas.

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posted 07-14-2014 02:31 PM            

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Snuff-boxes were often made out of relics possessing historical associations, such as Shakespeare's mulberry tree, the hull of the Royal George-in which "brave Kempenfeldt went down, with twice four hundred men " - or the deck of the Victory on which Nelson died for "England, home, and beauty." Sir Henry Irving is the proud possessor of one of the mulberry-tree boxes which belonged to David Garrick, who cut the wood of which it is made. Our leading actor also has Macready's silver box, and a third decorated with a medallion hearing the bust and name of John Philip Kemble.

A story is told of a party of gentlemen who were comparing their snuffboxes. One was made from a leaf of the table on which Wellington wrote the Waterloo dispatch; another from Canova's footstool; a third from the rockers of Harry Bishop's cradle; a fourth from the sign of "The Bear," Devizes, beneath which Sir Thomas Lawrence began to paint; Crabbe's cudgel; and Siddons's desk. All these, a melancholy individual who had joined the company said he could eclipse with a collection of boxes of far greater interest and value. Among those he mentioned was one made out of the flooring of the garret where that remarkable idiot, Smith, was confined; another out of the door of Mrs. Brownrigg's coal-hole, in which she hid the 'prentices, she beat to death. But the one he was most proud of was a box made out of a bit of plank from the Red Barn, with Corder's shots and his victim's blood distinctly visible! An incredulous exaggerator, however, trumped all these wonders by boasting that he himself possessed a box, "certainly somewhat worm?eaten," which was turned from a section of the tiller of Noah's ark!

Our next illustration introduces us to the strange character who made the famous "Lawrence Kirk" snuff-boxes. Lameness compelled him to keep his bed; but round it a platform was fixed on which the poor fellow worked, turning out the beautifully finished little boxes, which were so justly famed, and constructing a host of ingenious instruments and mechanical contrivances. He was very fond of birds; and his cheerful nature caused his home to be the gossipshop of the neighbourhood.

The favourite receptacle with Scotchmen for their cherished snuff is the mull -made of the small end of a horn. Some are enriched with brilliant cairngorms and other stones, and have attached to them a variety of little implements of silver to assist the snufftaker in the most luxurious style. A little woodcut shows a very splendid specimen:......one of a pair owned by the gallant Gordon Highlanders. There is a hammer to tap the side of the mull, should the snuff adhere; a bodkin to pierce and separate it; a rake to collect the snuff into the little spoon or shovel; and a hare's foot to brush loose particles from the nose or lip.

We also give old woodcuts of two other highly curious boxes. One is a Moorish specimen, made of ebony, and has attached to it, by a silver chain, an ivory stirrer which also serves as a stopper. The other, made of tortoiseshell, gives a Chinaman's quaint idea of an English fox-hunt.

Many ofthe magnificent boxes of the old snufftaking days have been carefully preserved. Some, rich in historical association, have been treasured and handed down from generation to generation. Others again are of such exquisite beauty and workmanship, often enriched with magnificent diamonds of the tinest water, cameos of the most delicate design, or the no less valuable minatures, that their mere intrinisic worth, apart from their value as works of art, quite warrant the jealous care with which they are guarded.

A large number were lent by their owners to the Stuart Exhibition. One, made of silver, belonged to the Marquisof Montrose; and it is said that it was the last thing he held in his hand, before mounting the gallows. Another, of oak from the Boscobel Tree, is mounted in silver with a representation of Charles II. hiding in the oak, and the party of soldiers searching for him. The boxes given by the Young Pretender to some of his followers also attracted much attention, as well as those decorated with his portrait. In one box, the latter is hidden behind a movable mask; and, in another, in an under-lid. Here, too, was to be seen a silver snuff-box which belonged to the Prince's devoted adherents the brave and daring Flora Macdonald and her husband.

The Guelph Exhibition also included a large number of interesting and beautiful boxes. Several contained some of Cosway's exquisite little miniatures. Here was to be seen the gold box given by Byron to Edmund Kean, and Garrick's favourite box, with a portrait of his brother Peter. Another example much noticed was one with a painting of the "Hell Fire Club," Which existed in Dublin before the Union, and embraced in its membership several notabilities of the day. The club held its orgies at a house on the hill above Rathfernham, in imitation of a similar institution in England called "The Monks of Medmenham Abbey," of which Wilkes was a member. Several royal snuff-boxes graced the exhibition. One, presented by Princess Amelia, daughter of George III., to the Hon. General Fitzroy, contained a lock of her hair. Three or four others were owned by George IV., including the one he gave to Sir Walter Scott. Another curious specimen, made of bloodstone, lent by the Duke of Cambridge, had a dog on the cover with eyes and teeth of diamonds and a cornelian tongue.

Talking of royal boxes recalls a tale told of Frederick of Prussia who was an inveterate snuff-taker. There seems to have been some bad feeling between him and Count Schwerin. At all events, his Majesty presented the Count with a snuff-box, on the inside of which was painted a donkey's head. Next day the Count produced the box at dinner and showed it to the Duchess of Brunswick. "What an excellent portrait of His Majesty! " remarked the Duchess. The King look somewhat annoyed. "Is it not a fine portrait?" said the lady, handing it to her neighbour. "Most excellent," was the reply; and the box began to travel round the table, when the King ordered it to be handed to him. His feeling can be imagined, when he found that the wily Count had had the donkey's head removed and a portrait of himself substituted, in order that he might teach the King a lesson.

The Jones Collection, at the Albert and Victoria Museum, is peculiarly rich in snuff-boxes, of rare beauty and value. One alone, painted by Blaremberghe, has been valued at £1,500, and many others are worth nearly as much. Several of the miniatures inserted in the lids are by Petitot. One box, which was formerly in the possession of Demidoff, has miniatures of Marie Antoinette and the whole family of Louis XVI. Near by is the gold-mounted snuff-box of Sir Thomas Lawrence, made from the cinder or lava of Vesuvius. A fantastic specimen is one made of amethyst, representing a lamb lying down. The ears are of ruby, and the eyes, being of diamonds, seem positively to flash fire. Among the tortoise- shell boxes, is one said to have been given to Marshal Vauban by Louis XIV. ; and another, supposed to have belonged to the ill-fated Marie Antoinette, was presented to the family of the donor by Prince de Conde. At the British Museum, the collection of snuff-boxes, though not large, is of a highly interesting character. In the Asiatic Saloon are a number of the quaint little porcelain bottles in which the Chinese kept their snuff. Some have tiny spoons attached to the stoppers, a few of which are enriched with precious stones. The designs and colour are most varied; no two are alike. There is one beautiful little specimen of the rare Sang de Bauf-the brilliant red glaze the secret of which was never divulged by its maker, at whose death, in 1610, it was lost. A charming little col1ection of Chinese snuff-bottles, in glass, will be found in the Glass Room. It includes some nice specimens of slip decoration, some clever imitations of onyx, chalcedony, turquoise, &c., and a pretty little box richly studded with fine imitation gems. In the Mediaeval Room, are a number of curious old pressed horn and tortoise-shell boxes decorated, in relief, with busts of various monarchs, classical and other subjects.

A few of the choicest specimens will be found in the Gold Ornament Room. Lying by the side of his watch is to be seen the gold snuff-box of Gibbon. It is said that whenever the historian was going to say a good thing he announced it by a complacent tap on his box. Here, too, is an enameled gold snuff-box in which Queen Charlotte kept her dearly loved mixture of Spanish or Violet Strasburg, to which her Majesty always added a little green tea. Another box which is sure to attract attention is one made of Lumachelli, or "fire marble," with its fascinating play of colours. The lid, and those of two or three other boxes, are enriched with lovely cameos.

The two Napoleon snuff-boxes are especial favourites with the public. One was presented to the Hon. Mrs. Damer by the Emperor, in acknowledgment of a bust of Charles James Fox, which the lady had chiseled for him with her own fair hands. A miniature of Napoleon which adorns the lid is encircled with magnificent diamonds.

The second box, which had been presented to the Emperor by Pope Pius VI., at Tolentino, has the lid set with a superb antique cameo. At Napoleon's death, the box was found with a piece of paper inside bearing the following words; "L'empcrcur Napoleon a Lady Holland temoignage de satisfaction et d'estime." Lord Carlisle, when he heard of the legacy, with very bad taste, gave vent to his feeling against the dead emperor in some lines commencing, "Lady, reject the gift, 'tis tinged with gore!" The verses greatly amused Byron, who thus parodied the first stanza ;-

Lady, accept the box a hero wore,
In spite of all this elegiac stuff :
Let not seven stanzas written by a bore,
Prevent your Ladyship from taking snuff!

Lord Carlisle's suggestion that Horror and Murder would leap out every time the box was opened, is also caricatured in the little woodcut reproduced; though it is evident that the artist had never seen the gift itself.

The snuff-box also elicited other poetical effusions more in keeping with Lady Holland's feelings. One is from Tom Moore ;-

Gift of the Hero; on his dying day
To her, whose pity watch'd for ever nigh.
Oh! cou'd he see the proud, the happy rav,
This relic lights up in her generous eye,
Sighing, he'd feel how easy 'tis to pay
A friendship-all his Kingdom cou'd not buy.

Lady Holland placed great value on this token of the Emperor's grateful remembrance of her kindness to him during his imprisonment at St. Helena. At her death she bequeathed the box to the Museum.

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