The Pipe and Snuff Place

A Pair of Petes

2012-02-06T20:40:00.000Z

The postman has been busy bringing another couple of Petersons to join the herd.

First to arrive was this Silver Mounted Army 86. A rather petite pipe but full of character and a great clencher.

Second was this Peterson Sports 3. I've been after one of these out of production pipes for a while as I like the p-lip and so didn't care for the newer Outdoor range. It's just 11cm long and so is perfect for slipping into a pocket.

A Beautiful Snuff Mull

2011-12-01T12:10:00.001Z

This lovely little snuff mull is a recent acquisition. It's about 9cm tall and is wonderfully tactile as well as being snuff proof and perfectly suited to carrying in a pocket. The dispensing mechanism deposits a measured quantity of snuff on the back of the hand. I think it is almost certainly Scottish and possibly late 19th century in date.

An Antique Pair of Snuffers

2011-10-06T19:27:00.000+01:00

An Antique Pair of Snuffers, drawn by Frederick Barnard and published in Harper's Weekly, May 5, 1888.

Not, as my good friend Snuff Head has suggested, the pair of us in Pearson Park (Hull) having been thrown out of the St Johns Hotel! I'll leave it to the reader to decide which of the gentlemen is intended to be which of us...

The Viking Snuff

2011-09-09T19:58:00.001+01:00

Just time for a quick mention of some new snuffs available only from, and presumably produced exclusively for My Smoking Shop in Preston. Five Viking snuffs are available so far - Brown, Dark, Menthol, Peach and Spear (spearmint flavoured). So far I have tried the first three and I have to say I am impressed with them.

Clearly somebody has been listening to what snuff takers have been saying about snuff packaging. These are sold in sensible 25g vacuum packed tins. No chance of them reaching the customer dried out and stale.

Judging by the nature of these snuffs they are almost certainly made by Samuel Gawith and I certainly don't have a problem with that.

Viking Brown is a wonderful snuff, not a million miles removed from SG's Kendal Brown. In fact I am pretty sure they are the same and that is no bad thing. It's coarse, moist and dark and has a very satisfying orange/citrus flavouring. Prefect for hefty pinches all day long and a full five star rating from me.

Viking Dark has a finer grind than Viking Brown though the flavour is similar yet lighter. While I am pretty sure this is also made by Samuel Gawith (the design of the 25g tin is a bit of a give-away) I can't think of a direct correlation between this and any of the SG branded snuffs. Plain snuffs don't get much better than this though to my nose Viking Brown has the edge.

In appearance Viking Menthol looks a lot like Viking Brown. It's coarse, moist and dark brown in colour, with the same flecks of lighter coloured stem material. The menthol has been applied with a light touch so in effect we're dealing with a KB with a refreshing after taste. I rather like it!

I am unlikely to try the Peach and I certainly won't be buying any of the Spear (can't stand spearmint!) but I am sure those two will prove popular with those snuffers who do like those flavours.

Silver Dollar Snuff

2011-08-27T13:43:00.000+01:00

I finally got around to writing a few paragraphs on the recently released (for the American market) Silver Dollar snuffs. These are being produced by a well known English snuff maker but will only be available from tobacconists in the US.

A John Reily Silver Snuff Box

2011-07-17T20:01:00.001+01:00

Silver Snuff Box by John Reily, London 1810

This is the other silver snuff I recently acquired. Made by John Reily and hallmarked London, 1808, it really is in remarkably good condition, the engine turned decoration having only minimal wear

Interior gilding

The gold wash inside the box is certainly original and shows only minor scratches. I suspect this box was not as heavily used as the Phipps & Robinson box I posted about yesterday.

Underside of the box

Even the bottom of the box shows only minor wear near the corners. This box is definitely going to get rather more use in my hands!

Interior detail

The hinge is in excellent condition and the box is as near snuff proof as they get.

Main hallmark

Lid hallmark

The hallmarks are crisp and clear, as can be seen in the photographs. The 'IR' mark was registered in February 1801 and the maker seems to have been active until at least the mid-1820s, though the style of the mark changed and was registered in June 1823. John Reily's son Charles was also a London silversmith.

A Phipps & Robinson Silver Snuff Box

2011-07-16T10:27:00.001+01:00

Silver Snuff Box by Phipps & Robinson, London 1810

This rather nice silver snuff box, made by Phipps & Robinson and hallmarked for London, 1810, is one of my recent acquisitions. I was attracted to its clean, Georgian lines (subtle and understated compared to the flowery excesses of later, Victorian boxes) and more particularly to the fact that it already has my inititals engraved on the lid.

The hinge

The hinge is in excellent condition, allowing the box to open and firmly close as well as it was intended and snuff leakage is minimal, as one would expect.

Gold washed interior

The original gilding is present, though a little scratched in places and I did feel the need to give the interior a gentle wash with warm, soapy water and a soft cloth. This successfully removed the residue old snuff without damaging the finish in any way. The marks on the inside of the lid turned out to be the remains of some sort of sticker and came away cleanly with the use of a small amount of 99% isopropyl alcohol.

Hallmarks

The hallmarking is nice and clear and present on both body and lid, as one would expect.

The all important (to me) initials

As can be seen in the photographs, the one small issue with the box is that over the years it has been fairly aggressively polished, resulting in some loss of definition of the lined pattern and the monogram, yet that decorative 'TB' in the central cartouche is still perfectly legible. There is a warning in this - be careful when polisihing silver!

Hinge detail

As can be seen above, there is evidence of slight bumping to the corners of the box, though realistically this is to be expected of a snuff box with 201 years of use behind it. It doesn't detract at all for me. In fact I like the signs that the box and been used and loved. What I would give to know who had owned it in the past and which snuffs they filled it with!

Underside of the box

Front edge

In spite of the aggressive polishing the box still weighs in at an impressive 81g retaining a good thickness of silver throughout. Dimensions are 75mm x 45mm x 15mm - perfect for a pocket snuff box. It currently has Mullins & Westley's Jock's Choice in it. I swear it tastes better out of an antique silver box than the tin it came in!

From what I have been able to find out, Thomas Phipps (-1823) and Edward Robinson (-1816) had premises at 40, Gutter Lane, London. They produced mostly fine boxes (snuff boxes, nutmeg graters and vinaigrettes) in silver and gold, but also wine labels, knife stands, apple corers and other domestic items.

A small slice of Virginia...

2011-07-14T12:47:00.000+01:00

... in my back garden!

Yes, those Indian weeds are growing well!

Except for one or two strangely stunted ones and a couple that got eaten by the slugs. Hope they enjoyed them.

Peterson System Premier 303

2011-07-14T08:57:00.000+01:00

The latest addition to my Peterson herd is this beautiful System Premier 303, ordered from Brucciani's in Carlisle back in March. The System Premier pipes seems to be only available to order these days, rarely can they be found 'off the shelf', and the expected 16 week wait proved to be fairly accurate. I must say it was well worth the wait. A fine piece of briar which I am sure I will be enjoying for many years to come. And of course hats off to Chris at Brucciani's for the excellent service.

Peterson System Premier 303

Tonquin Beans

2011-07-13T12:18:00.002+01:00

Or tonka beans, or tonkin beans... There are various different ways of spelling the word but these are the beasties and yes, they do look a bit like legless blackclocks (that's cockroaches to the rest of the world). Dipteryx odorata is the Latin name.

Of course they are not really quite that big. Usually they're between 1cm and 2cm long. When you get them they are dry and wrinkly (a bit like me) but they do have a hint of that rather fine smell you get in some Fribourg & Treyer and Samuel Gawith snuffs, not to mention some of the latter's pipe tobaccos (Cob Plug, 1792 Flake and Bracken Flake).

In the past they have often been used to keep snuff moist and also to impart that flavouring. They still do that job well of course. Simply dunk a couple in water overnight and the next day just pop them into your snuff, after dabbing off any excess of water. Rehydration and flavouring all in one go though it does take a couple of days for the best effect.

Recently I tried a little experiment, having ordered a 25g vacuum sealed tin of J&H Wilson's Top Mill No. 1 and having been sent a punch of the little blue tins, which inevitably contained rather dried out snuff. Disappointing, yes, but not an irretrievable situation. I had a go at revitalising some of the snuff with the water soaked tonquin beans and then thought why not use some other liquid? So, a day later, a couple of beans soaked in whisky and a couple in brandy and the now plump and juicy beans were added to two more lots of the Top Mill. Result? Delicious! We'll see what Snuff Head thinks about the result in the pub tonight.

Sources for tonquin beans? Snuff Store has them in stock sometimes. Otherwise I'm sure a Google search will reveal many more sources.

All change!

2011-07-12T20:58:00.002+01:00

I decided it was time I gave the place a lick of paint and some new curtains. Do let me know what you think of the new look!

Snuff Flasks for the Modern Snuff Taker

2011-07-12T19:18:00.000+01:00

As anyone who has taken snuff for any length of time will have learned, the enemy of snuff is air. Snuff exposed to the air soon dries out and becomes stale and is rather less than pleasant to take. Snuffers have always used a variety of containers to store their snuff and the aim has always been to keep air away from the snuff as much as possible. Snuff boxes in various materials, silver, wood, horn, pewter, papier mache, china and plastic have all found a place in the snuff taker's pocket and all can be reasonably good at protecting the precious powder, though none of them do a perfect job by any means. But there is a better way to preserve the freshness of our snuff.

Yes, they are small, stainless steel hip flasks. The advantage of a modern stainless steel hip flask for carrying snuff is that these days there is a plastic insert in the lid rather than the older cork insert. Of course, this is really designed to stop ones favourite tipple from dribbling all over the place but is is just as effective as an air seal for keeping snuff fresh. And it really works, and works far better than any of my older style snuff boxes. Okay, so there is less scope for an elaborate flourish when opening and presenting your snuff box to your friends, but I feel the advantages are significant, at least for the moister, coarser snuffs. I still use silver, pewter and wooden boxes for toasts, scotches and the drier SPs, but for Kendal Brown, Black Rappee, Princes or a Schmalzler these little bottles are the canine proverbials.

The largest that I use are the two on the left. They are designed to hold 1.5oz of liquid. The rest are 1oz bottles. Some came with the fitting for attaching to a key ring (which I soon removed), and some have various decorations, often the logos of spirits. None of them were expensive; n fact it is possible to find them online for as little as a couple of quid each. Far cheaper than any snuff box. There is enough variety available to make it easy to use distinctive flasks for each of our snuffs. You will need a small funnel to fill them of course. Lloyds sell a nice one in stainless steel, though the one I use is an older pewter one which came with one of my larger, pewter hip flasks.

I particularly like the one in the front of the picture. It's in the shape of an old-fashioned pocket watch, making it very comfortable in the pocket. It's an unusual shape but even that one only cost me £6.95 plus postage. It has been filled with J&H Wilson's SP No 1, fresh from a vacuum sealed 25g tin, from the day I got it and it stays perfectly fresh. Some sellers will even engrave them for you for a truly personalised snuff flask. Toque Snuff are selling ones like it for slightly more, but with theirs you get the Toque logo on the front as well so I guess the extra cost is worth it.

This is the Ebay search I used to seek them out. Substitute '1.5oz' for '1oz' if you want a slightly larger one.

Bulldogs!

2011-07-11T20:39:00.001+01:00

Perhaps surprisingly not every pipe I buy is a Peterson, even though most of them are. I also have a weakness for bulldog pipes, straight or bent, whether they are called bulldogs, bent bulldogs, Rhodesians or anything else. Here I'm only showing with the non-Peterson ones I've picked up recently, plus a couple of pipes I inherited from my dad.

I like the bulldog shape for when I'm working. They're easy to clench, relatively light in weight and not over large in capacity. The diamond shaped shank ensures that they cannot roll off the workbench when I put them down for a moment. A major consideration!

Hardcastle London Made 61, meerschaum lined

Parker Jockey Club 345

Stanwell Deluxe Polished 32

This is just marked "Reject", one of my late dad's pipes. A great smoker.

Bewlay Popular 014. Another of my late dad's pipes.

I'll finish off with two more of the pipes I inherited from my dad. Both are quite ordinary pipes but I don't seem to see the like on Ebay very often.

Byford 24. This has a curious "stinger" or metal filter system.

Astoria Deluxe

And a few more new Peterson pipes

2011-07-11T13:01:00.004+01:00

I received an email from Brucciani's this morning. The Peterson Premier 303 I ordered four months ago is finally ready. In fairness that's about the length of time they said it would take as the Premier system pipes are now made only to order. All being well it will be here tomorrow, giving me a good excuse for another post.

Meanwhile I'll add pictures of some more pipes acquired during my down time.

First up, a Peterson System 3 358. The 358/308 shape is basically the same as the Mark Twain, though having a slightly smaller capacity. The 358/308 shape seems to have been discontinued in the 60s or 70s due, it has been stated, the tendency of the end of the stem inside the pipe to overheat and even melt. I have yet to see that problem with this pipe, or with the sandblasted version I also have.

Smooth 358

Sandblasted 358

Next are the two pipes comprising the new Peterson Mark Twain set, a classic MT and a Poker. Both excellent pipes, though I would have preferred to have had the choice of a P-lip mouth piece on the Poker. It still smokes well though.

Mark Twain Classic

Mark Twain Poker

I do like the Army Mount pipes from Peterson so when I saw this silver mounted version of the 999 with a P-lip on sale it was an easy decision to buy it. A fine pipe.

Silver Mounted Army 999

Another "had to buy" pipe! A Walnut Silver Spigot with (unusually) a P-lip mouth piece in the 408 shape. Again, these generally come with a fish tail stem so I was pleased to have found this at The Pipe Shop in Edinburgh. Excellent service from them too.

Walnut Silver Spigot 408

Here we have a humble System Standard 304 sitter. A useful pipe for when I'm working as being a sitter I can put it down in the workshop without fear of it falling over and emptying the contents of the well into the chamber... (gross thought, I know!).

System Standard 304

I've been on the look out for one of the older, "chubby" Peterson 999 pipes and finally found one. A hefty chunk of briar which gives a lovely cool smoke.

"Chubby" 999

Finally for today is the 1984 Mark Twain I bought from a guy in the US via Smoker's Forums. A wonderful pipe and an interesting one to compare with the new re-release.

1984 Mark Twain

Various New Pipes

2011-07-10T20:34:00.014+01:00

During my down time I did acquire various new and new to me (ie estate) pipes. Rather than write a new post for each I'll just add a few pictures for now.

This Peterson Darwin Deluxe is probably the cream of the new crop. Availability of the Darwins has always been a bit patchy and the previous time Brucciani's had some in stock I was a little short for readies. This time it wasn't a problem. It's a gem of a pipe and has smoked well from the very first fill.

Darwin Deluxe

I knew from what others have said that was going to be a big pipe. In fact only my Charles Peterson Anniversary pipe is larger. The second photograph gives the idea.

Darwin Deluxe

I had been after a Donegal Rocky for some time but as I prefer the P-lip to a fish-tail mouth piece I had held off until recently. Then this 408 popped up on Ebay. It took a little while to thoroughly exorcise a rather aromatic ghost, but the effort was well worth it. A fine piece of briar indeed.

Donegal Rocky 408

The Galway range of Peterson pipes is a new one to me. This 606s proved to be another good catch on Ebay. I particularly like the briar insert in the mouth piece. Very attractive.

Galway 606s

A month or so back I was driving up the M6/M74 to Falkirk and couldn't resist calling in at Brucciani's in Carlisle on the way past. Fortunately there is good car parking not far from the shop, which proved remarkably easy to find, even though this was my first visit. Inevitably I couldn't resist this Irish Made Army 87. Unusual in that it has a P-lip bit rather than the more usual fish-tail (the P-lip seems much more common on the silver mounted Army pipes). I suspect it may have been in stock for some time. It has a couple of fills but makes for a greater working or driving pipe.

Irish Made Army 87

This 314 shaped Meerschaum with a silver band was another Ebay catch. The hallmark is for 1990.

314 shaped Meerschaum

My younger daughter treated me to this superb Patent Anniversary Oom Paul. I was stunned to say the least! It takes pride of place alongside the Darwin Deluxe and the Charles Peterson Annivesary pipe.

Patent Anniversary Oom Paul

Another good working or driving pipe is this little K Briar 903. No idea how old it might be.

K Briar 903

Finally, for now, when I spotted this silver army mounted Rock of Cashel 03 at Smokingpipes.com I knew I just had to have it! If anything the grain and the sandblast look even better in real life than they do in the photograph so I am very pleased with it indeed. As I have come to expect from any Peterson pipe I buy, it's an excellent smoker. Excellent service from Smokingpipes as well. If it wasn't for shipping costs and the chance of copping for VAT when items come through customs I would certainly use that site more than I do.

Silver Army Mounted Rock of Cashel 03

I probably reach for my 303/3s Petersons more than any others during the day though I wouldn't want to risk damaging this one by using it while working. It's far too nice to spoil!

While I'm on a roll...

2011-07-09T13:18:00.000+01:00

... I'll add another post :)

Just a few pictures taken in May in the back room of the St Johns. Snuff much in evidence as usual, but it seems I was waiting for someone to fill my beer glass at that point!

Long Time No Blog

2011-07-09T12:52:00.000+01:00

Well, the last nine months of real life really got in the way of doing many things and this blog was no exception. Since my last post I spent a couple of months spending a serious amount of time caring for my elderly dad, followed by five weeks of daily hospital visits while he was in Hull Royal Infirmary. After he passed away on 13th December the real chaos started with me being the sole executor of his will. Finally I am just about done with all that work and while I still need to spend time looking after my mum's interests now that she is in a care home, I can start to make time to get life back to something like normal.

During those nine months I still managed to buy some new pipes and snuff boxes and of course I also inherited my dad's pipes and snuff boxes, not to mention the 1/2 lb of CM snuff he still had, though I find I have some difficulty enjoying the CM now as it brings back too many memories.

So, with a bit of luck this post will just be the start of some rather more regular posting.

Fingers firmly crossed!

A Peterson Patent 21½s

2010-09-07T18:04:00.003+01:00

I seem to be on a bit of a roll with picking up interesting old Peterson pipes at the moment. The latest addition to the herd is certainly one of the most interesting that I have ever acquired.

When this pipe first appeared on Ebay there were no clues in the item title or description to indicate its age or type. The one photograph in the listing made it clear that it was a deluxe of some sort and the shape immediately said "3s" to me, or possibly "2s". It's hard to judge size in a photograph without a point of reference.

However, the pipe turned out to be much smaller than a 3s, let alone a 2s and it has the magic words "Peterson Patent" stamped on the shank and band. Checking the 1896 catalogue it looks like a 21½s. The hallmark is K for 1905, so this is now my oldest Pete. It's just 115mm long, the bowl is 35mm high with an bore of 17mm. It will be perfect for ropes and twists.

Once I've cleaned it up I'll get some decent pictures taken, but for now here's the "before" picture.

This page from the above mentioned catalogue shows the 21½s models with the different stems available then.

A Pair of "Made in Eire" Petersons

2010-09-03T16:36:00.003+01:00

The pipe fairy dropped a most welcome parcel on my doormat this morning. Contents: a Peterson System Standard 31, a System Standard 307 and a rather battered Zippo lighter with a Peterson design on the front.

While a 31 and a 307 would normally be nothing out of the ordinary, these are a bit special in that they both have the "Made in Eire", circle format COM marking, meaning that they date from 1938 to 1947. Apart from a lost fill on the 31 both are in good condition and will only need a clean and polish before they enter service. Even the stems are in pretty good nick.

First, the System Standard 31:

And then the System Standard 307, along with the Zippo:

Strangely the Zippo has the standard insert instead of the pipe lighter insert.

Both pipes and the Zippo set me back just £57. Quite a bargain I reckon, given the apparent rarity of Petersons with those markings.

Samuel Gawith Snuffs in 25g Tins

2010-09-02T16:51:00.002+01:00

It seems that someone at Samuel Gawith & Co is actually listening to their customers.

Since the introduction of the 10g plastic "tap boxes" several years ago, users of Samuel Gawith snuffs have been vociferous in their complaints about them. They are far from airtight so snuff dries out all too quickly and often before the snuff has even reached the consumer. While this may not be a major problem for lovers of Irish "D" Light, for those who prefer their snuffs moist and coarsely milled the tap boxes have been an unmitigated disaster. The likes of Scotch Black and London Brown are simply not suited to storage in plastic tap boxes so many snuffers either went without or bought in bulk - the large plastic drums used for bulk snuff are airtight and perfectly suited to the task.

Now, at last, the coarse, moist snuffs are available in 25g vacuum packed metal tins and it seems the hated tap boxes have been discontinued, at least for those coarse, moist snuffs. Just yesterday I received from My Smoking Shop a tin each of Black Rappee and Scotch Black in the new tins and I was delighted to find the contents in perfect condition. A far cry from the "shotgun pellets" that came in the tap boxes the last time I bought these two excellent snuffs.

So, all credit to Samuel Gawith for getting it right!

Now I hope to see the rest of their snuffs in the 25g tins and with luck the hated tap boxes will disappear for ever.

A Rather Curious Peterson...

2010-08-26T14:17:00.001+01:00

This curious beast of an estate Peterson pipe arrived in the post this morning and while it certainly isn't a straight system pipe as I had previously suspected, I am not really sure just what it is.

The nickel band has the faux hallmarks suggesting a 1949-63 date, the stem isn't an army mount, though it looks superficially like one and the only markings on the shank are the letters RE next to the band. I suspect the letters JECT may be hidden by the band. There are 4 obvious fills so it could well be a reject fitted with the wrong band.

It had been reamed and cleaned so didn't need a lot of work before the first fill. It seems to be a good smoker so I'm happy with the purchase.

Two More Petersons

2010-05-22T14:13:00.001+01:00

Earlier this week the postie brought me a rather nice Peterson Irish Whiskey 221. Second hand but in excellent nick and hardly needing cleaning let alone anything more drastic. It's the same shape as the System 314 and even has a short well, though not as long as in the System pipes. I am rather taken by the grain and staining on this one. Not a bad buy for £25 I reckon.

Next came a System Deluxe 1s black sandblast, hallmarked for 1979, from Bond's. Looks like they still have three left...

I was surprised to find that this one didn't have the usual condenser in brass or aluminium but instead had a push in vulcanite tube which serves the same function. As the box also included a pack of Medico 6mm filters it's clear that the intention is to give an option of making this a filter pipe, a filter replacing the vulcanite tube.

Another old Peterson...

2010-04-30T16:06:00.003+01:00

Just arrived today, my latest Peterson system pipe, an old sandblasted System Premier 313. The hallmark on the silver band is very worn but appears to be the G for 1974.

The stem is rather chewed but it should clean up just fine and the bowl seems to be in excellent condition. The job for the bank holiday weekend will be to give this pipe a good spiffing. Once that is done I expect it will smoke as well as my smooth System Premier 313.

Update: I've replaced the stem with suitable system standard stem (and stored the original away in a labelled bag). The pipe sits much more comfortably in the mouth now.

This brings my set of 313s to four, a Standard smooth, a Standard rustic, a Premier smooth (my birth year pipe - 1956) and the new Premier sandblast. The two Standards are both "Early Replublic", dating from between 1949 and 1963 judging by the faux hallmarks on the nickel band.

I guess a System Deluxe 8s will complete the job. One like the one on the left will do nicely.

Wilson's of Sharrow's New Web Site

2010-04-16T08:23:00.005+01:00

Founded in the early 18th century, Wilson's of Sharrow, the famous Sheffield snuff maker, has now firmly joined the 21st century with the launching of their new online shop.

I shall miss the phone calls to the mill to order snuff (the staff have always been so friendly and helpful) but I have to say that it will be a lot easier ordering my Wilson's snuff in future. The new site seems very easy to navigate and all the various options are there, though I have to admit to being a little baffled by their way of categorising their snuffs. I wouldn't have expected to find Irish High Toast (No. 22) under SP Snuffs for instance. Not that the quirks are a major problem of course, more of a minor niggle. I have noticed that not all the products listed in the paper catalogue are in the online shop (yet) but that catalogue is available on the site as a PDF download.

Now we just have to hope that Samuel Gawith and Gawith Hoggarth follow suit with equally useful online shops.

A Peterson Patent 181 B (Short)

2010-04-08T19:04:00.002+01:00

This Peterson Patent 181 B (Short) is my latest Peterson acquisition and quite a gem it is. It dates from 1908, judging by the Dublin hallmark on the silver band and the screw in amber(oid) stem fits and lines up perfectly. The bowl looks like it has hardly been smoked. All that for just £45. Definitely my lucky day!

Having had a look through the various Peterson catalogues available online, I have concluded that the model is almost certainly a 181 B (Short), as shown on page 69 of the 1896 catalogue, though that only mentions vulcanite stems. I guess stem possibilities changed between 1896 and 1908. "B" refers to the style of the stem and "Short" also refers to the stem, which has a screw thread rather than a push fit. I'm not sure how to determine whether the stem is amber or ambroid. Maybe someone can suggest a way to tell the difference between them?

While the shape is similar to the Sherlock Holmes Milverton and the Kinsale XL24, the 181 is a much smaller pipe. Maximum length is 11.5cm (4.5"), bowl height is 48mm (1 7/8"), bowl diameter is 30mm (1 3/8"). Internally, chamber depth is 42mm (1 5/8") and the bore is 19mm (3/4"). Not quite a nose-warmer but definitely a pipe designed for use outside the home.

The rigid leather case isn't in bad condition for its age and it appears to have done a great job of protecting the pipe over the years.

Note: I have found a definition of amberoid. It is "a synthetic form of amber made by heating and compressing valueless small pieces of amber with other resins." Peterson's catalogues seem to use the variant spelling "ambroid".

A Rustic Peterson 313

2010-03-30T12:39:00.002+01:00

My latest eBay acquisition arrived this morning, a rustic Peterson System Standard 313, dating from somewhere between 1949 and 1963, judging by the faux hallmarks on the nickel band. I tend to think of this period as "early republic" in terms of Peterson pipe dating, as opposed to the earlier pre-republic pipes, dating from around 1920 to 1949.

This 313 is the rusticated twin of my first ever Peterson, which I bought around 1979, and at the price I paid it is a good catch indeed. It is in remarkably good condition for its age with very little wear on either the bowl or the stem. It isn't going to need a lot of cleaning up before use. Isopropyl alcohol on bristle pipe cleaners through the stem and shank to sanitise it then a little polish on both the stem and the nickel band and the job is a good one.

Half and hour later and the new pipe is loaded with Hal o'the Wynd and smoking beautifully.

Rehydrating Snuff

2010-03-21T19:20:00.002Z

I recently decided to revisit the various coarse, dark, moist snuffs produced by Samuel Gawith. I bought a selection of them in the new 10g plastic dispensers (tap boxes). The size seems useful as a sample with my aim being to choose one or two for buying in bulk, either 250g or 500g drums. Unfortunately those dispensers are far from airtight and the snuff in a number of them was already too dry for use. This did sometimes happen with the old tins, but not quite so often.

However, rather than throw them away I decided to use them for rehydration experiments. One method in particular has worked very well, though it should be noted that the snuffs weren't totally dry but just about getting to that stage. Some were close to that "shotgun pellet" condition which has been noted by others.

I transferred the snuff to an empty 25g Toque tin and then lightly sprayed a mist of water on top of the snuff
using an old glass hay fever nasal spray bottle. By removing the thin plastic tube that goes down to the bottom of the bottle, which normally enables it to be used upright, you can use it upside down. The tube just pulls out. The bottle is like the one shown below, but in glass.

With the lid of the tin back on I let it sit for a hour or so and then gave it a good shake. The snuff was pretty well back to what it should have been. Soft and fluffy and very tasty. I did this with London Brown, Black Rappee, Scotch Black, Scotch, Cob Dark and Princes Dark, all with excellent results. Much faster than any other method I have tried and it gives even results as the water goes onto the snuff as a mist.

About Snuff

2010-03-18T14:23:00.001Z

Snuff is, of course, nothing more than tobacco, ground or milled to a powder of varying coarseness from very fine to really quite coarse, and taken nasally. Once the most popular way of enjoying tobacco, snuff had been in a long slow decline for 150 years until just recently. The habit seems to be undergoing a renaissance now that smoking is becoming so publicly restricted not to mention socially unacceptable. Snuff has the advantage of not affecting others and also of being considerably less dangerous than smoking tobacco, as most of the toxins and carcinogens are only released when tobacco is burned. See the Toque Blog for more on the health aspects of snuff.

I have been snuffing on and off since the mid 70s, when I was living in Regensburg and was introduced to the marvellous snuffs from Gebr. Bernard. An earlier attempt at snuff when I was rather younger was less than successful!

Since the UK smoking ban came in I've been gradually reducing my other tobacco habits (pipes and roll ups) and increasing my snuff intake to the point where I now consider myself first and foremost a snuffer, though I still frequently enjoy a pipe or two. I feel much healthier for it too. Curiously I seem to have turned to snuff from the other routes to the nicotine fix at roughly the same age as my grandfather did. Didn't do him any harm either.

The last half-way decent tobacconist in Hull where one could buy snuff, both in tins and loose, has sadly closed so now I can only get my snuff fix online. At least there are some excellent online retailers out there. You can find links to some of those on the right of this page. There are also links to various other online snuff, pipe and pipe tobacco resources.

I seem to have become a moderately regular contributor to the Snuffhouse forum and through that site I met another local snuffer, John, aka Snuff Head. We meet up in the bar of the St Johns Hotel, Queens Road, Hull on Wednesday evenings and often on a Friday or Saturday as well, along with other local snuffers. A wonderful opportunity to try new snuffs and discuss them. Snuff Head has had some fun with a picture of the pub...

On the Classification of Snuff

2010-03-17T17:54:00.002Z

In the past I tried, not particularly successfully, to devise a detailed method of categorising snuffs, in the interest of making things rather clearer for newcomers to the world of snuff, but as time passes I find that the traditional method of classifying snuff is almost certainly easier and clearer for everyone. An obvious case of there being no reason to reinvent the wheel!

Professor Phillips Griffiths presents on his web site a simple and straightforward system of categorising snuffs: "Snuffs vary from moist to dry, and from coarse to fine (gros, demigros, and fin) and may be natural or perfumed or medicated." This suffices perfectly well for most purposes, indicating the broad characteristics of a snuff.

However, the traditional way of describing snuff as being fin, demigros or gros does have a drawback in that the French term gros implied dark, moist and coarse while fin suggested pale coloured, dry and finely ground. This usually works well enough for European snuffs but is not always suitable for describing other snuffs. Finely ground moist, dark snuffs and coarsely ground pale, dry snuffs are by no means unknown.

My suggestion would therefore be to avoid the use of the French terms and instead use appropriate English terms.

Moisture	Dry - Medium - Moist
Grind	Fine - Medium - Coarse
Flavour	Plain - Medicated - Scented
Colour	As appropriate

Flavour is the most awkward part of any sort of categorisation of a snuff. Snuffs can be flavoured in various different ways but essentially there are three different methods. In the most common method these days, the snuff is flavoured after grinding with suitable essences. In the now less common method the tobacco is flavoured before grinding, the rolls or twists of tobacco being steeped in an appropriately flavoured "sauce". Yet other snuffs gain their flavour not by sauces or essences but by the methods of fermentation and the blending of different tobaccos. The latter would be a plain snuff rather than a scented one.

Plain snuffs have no extra flavouring and come in various grinds and can be simple plain snuffs, like old fashioned rappees, plain SPs and American scotches or the results of blending and fermentation of different tobaccos, like some of Bernard's non-Schmalzler snuffs. Some plain snuffs can also be toasted or smoked. These are traditional in the western parts of the British Isles, in Ireland, western Scotland, Wales and the United States. They are fine, dry and usually pale in colour. They are known as Irish High Toasts or High Dry Toasts if oak is used in the process and American plain or strong scotches if hickory is used. It has been suggested that toasts are toasted before they are ground up and scotches are smoked after they are ground up.

Medicated snuffs seem to be traditionally English but are now produced elsewhere and are very popular. Menthol is the most common flavouring but camphor, eucalyptus and pine oil are also frequently used. Medicated snuffs can also be scented.

Scented snuffs are possibly the most popular internationally these days and a huge variety of floral scents, fruit flavours, herbs, spices, perfumes and essences is used in the manufacture of these snuffs. Some toasted snuffs can also be lightly scented as can many . Perhaps the most common scent used in the manufacture of snuff is bergamot, a citrus fruits from southern Italy, which provides the traditional flavouring in a scented SP.

Traditional Snuff Styles

It is worth mentioning various distinct national or regional snuff styles. These are readily defined as above but deserve a few notes.

Schmalzler is a traditional Bavarian style of snuff, usually made from Brazilian tobacco, which gets its flavour from the sauces used before grinding. They range from the relatively plain to the highly flavoured. Different degrees of fermentation give rise to the variety and depth of the flavours. Some are now mentholated.

Scotch is an American style of snuff, originally derived from the Irish and Scottish toasted snuffs but having a distinctive character of its own. Scotches are always very finely ground, and can be plain, strong or sweet. The strong scotches are the ones with the smoky flavouring. Sweet scotches often have fruit flavouring.

SP snuffs are traditionally English and now usually have some measure of citrus flavouring, usually but not exclusively of bergamot. PhilipS's comments are worth quoting on the subject of SPs:

"SP might cause a problem (for classification) because definitions vary. For many years SP was associated with the Sheffield mills of Westbrook and Sharrow. SP was thought of as a plain golden-brown medium snuff until Sharrow changed the name of Queens to Best SP. Thereafter SP (in my opinion) is associated either with a plain medium snuff (SP No. 1) or one using oil derived from the peel of Citrus Bergamia which is exclusive to Reggio-Calabria in southern Italy. The top note is lemon leaving a lingering scent similar to neroli. It blends very well with lavender which is also used in the these Sharrow blends. This could be called Piquant SP as opposed to just SP (Plain SP). (Samuel Gawith call these ‘Scented SP’ and ‘Plain SP’ respectively.) Interestingly in the past the dried peel was made into snuff boxes and the oil used to flavour gin as well as snuff and tea."

I would love to receive input from others on this subject.

My latest self-indulgence... A Patrick Collins Oak Triple Tech snuff box.

Snuff Storage

2010-03-17T07:42:00.002Z

One of the questions most commonly asked by newcomers to the world of snuff is how best to store snuff. Here I shall be exploring the various options for both short and long term storage of snuff.

The Public Enemy Number 1 for snuff is air, as strange as that may sound. On exposure to the air fresh snuff rapidly dries out and loses much of its flavour, becoming stale and unpalatable in weeks if not days, depending on the climate. There are two solutions to this problem, the use of oils in place of water for moistening the snuff and effective storage. English snuffs are not allowed by law to use the former but in other countries various substances may be used. In Germany many snuffs are moistened with small amounts paraffin oil (in place of the lard that was once employed) and in India ghee (clarified butter) is often used. The result is that the snuff dries out far more slowly than if just water is used to moisten the snuff.

But here we need to examine the options for effective snuff storage rather than the use of other moistening agents and we are concerned with how things are now rather than how they may have been in the past.

Today snuff is usually retailed in either small tins, boxes, dispensers or tubes containing sufficient snuff for a few days or a week for the average user, or in large, airtight, plastic containers which may hold 250g or 500g (1/2 lb or 1 lb) of snuff. Ideally the small tins, boxes, dispensers or tubes would be sufficently airtight to keep the snuff fresh for a long time but sadly, with but a couple of exceptions, this is not the case. In such containers the snuff rapidly dries and loses flavour even to the point of becoming unpalatable. This was never a problem in the past, when most snuff users had ready access to a local shop which stocked a variety of snuffs but unfortunately for most of us this is no longer the case. Instead we end up buying online or by mail order, ordering enough to last for weeks or months and trying to ensure that we get our money's worth for the amount spent on postage. Conversely the large airtight drums or tubs can keep snuff fresh for years as long as they aren't opened too often.

So where does this leave us for storing our snuff? Small containers really need to be kept in something else that is airtight. Ziploc bags provide a short term solution and Tupperware boxes (or similar) can work well for even longer periods, but even then, metal tins, unless of aluminium, have a habit of rusting, spoiling the snuff inside and there will usually be some loss of moisture and flavour over time. Far better to decant the snuff from the retail packaging into something better. Better would be glass jars with airtight lids or even food jars suitably cleaned as long as they seal well enough. Softer plastics tend to retain flavours (and are not totally airtight - the air does slowly migrate through the plastic) so containers made of those are less good for the purpose. Hard plastics are much better, but glass is probably the best material for such storage.

But overall by far the best solution is to only buy the small tins or boxes in order to sample different snuffs in order to discover ones favourite snuffs which can then be bought in bulk from the manufacturer or retailer. Snuff likes to be in bulk! It keeps freshest like that. Ideally bulk containers would be of glass but these days they are of good quality plastics which are as good as airtight. However we have to remember than every time we open such a drum we let in air which is the one thing we need to minimise.

This is where the proper snuff box comes in and solves the problem for us. It is a simple matter to transfer snuff from the bulk container to the snuff box on a daily basis so that the bulk container stays closed and airtight for most of the time, preserving the bulk of the snuff in as good a condition as possible.

Ideally we don't really want to open those large drums even as often as once a day so an even better solution is to have an intermediate stage in the process. This involves the use of smaller airtight glass jars or aluminium tins or tubes holding 25g or 50g (1oz or 2oz) of snuff. These are filled from the bulk drum and in turn they are used to fill the snuff box. Simple! Toque 25g screw top aluminium tins and Fribourg & Treyer 25g or 50g aluminium tubes are perfect for this and indeed, they are what I use for the purpose.

Finally this brings us to the question of snuff boxes. While a snuff box for every day use is not going to be prefectly airtight we do at least want them to be reasonably snuff tight. Such boxes can be made of wood (hinged or sliding top), pewter, papier mache, silver or even more exotic materials. Pewter tends to be a little soft and pewter boxes seem prone to hinge damage, silver boxes are usually expensive and wooden ones can dry the snuff out fairly quickly. Historically papier mache boxes were viewed as being best suited for the purpose but they can no longer be found new and old ones often have damage of some sort. Personally I tend to use wooden boxes, either sliding top Patrick Collins boxes or French made hinged ones. They are not particularly expensive and do the job well enough. I am quite happy at that.

Samuel Gawith's Scotch Snuff

2010-03-16T16:55:00.001Z

I am currently revisting many of the Samuel Gawith coarse, dark snuffs. It's been some time since I tried many of them and I am thinking about getting one of them in bulk. Of course this entailed getting 10g plastic dispensers of them from My Smoking Shop in Preston and to my disappointment I found all the 10g samples I bought to be too dry. These are meant to be moist snuffs! Clearly those 10g plastic boxes are far from adequate. Not only are they less than airtight but persuading coarse snuff to leave the dispensing hole is quite a challenge in itself. I solved the problem by rehdrating the the snuffs and transferring them to empty 10g aluminium Toque tins. These are much more airtight, having a screw thread, and there is no risk of the tin rusting due to contact with the moist snuff.

My original review for Scotch was:

Nearly black, moist and medium-coarse. Pure rich tobacco flavour. Very nice!

There isn't a lot to add to that. There is no added flavouring which suits me fine and if appropriately moist, this is an easy snuff to take and proves very satisfying. The curious thing about Scotch is that it is darker in colour than Scotch Black. I can't quite figure that one out but it in no way detracts from the quality of the snuff. Scotch must be a solid contender for a forthcoming bulk snuff purchase.

Why this blog?

2010-03-16T16:24:00.003Z

After some consideration I decided to set up this blog as an adjunct to my existing Snuff and Pipes web site. That site is fine for organised pages, lists, reviews, information and links concerning Snuff, Pipes and Pipe Tobacco, but is less well suited for my random ramblings on those subjects. With luck this place will fill that role just fine. I should add that the snuff discussed here is the old fashioned powdered tobacco that one sniffs up the nose and there is nothing here about anything else that now goes by that name.

A couple of pictures just to add a note of interest...

My favourite silver snuff box, made by Edward Smith and hallmarked Birmingham, 1838.

My birth year Peterson pipe, a System Premier 313, hallmarked for Dublin, 1956.

The Pipe and Snuff Place

A Pair of Petes

A Beautiful Snuff Mull

An Antique Pair of Snuffers

The Viking Snuff

Silver Dollar Snuff

A John Reily Silver Snuff Box

A Phipps & Robinson Silver Snuff Box

A small slice of Virginia...

Peterson System Premier 303

Tonquin Beans

All change!

Snuff Flasks for the Modern Snuff Taker

Bulldogs!

And a few more new Peterson pipes

Various New Pipes

While I'm on a roll...

Long Time No Blog

A Peterson Patent 21½s

A Pair of "Made in Eire" Petersons

Samuel Gawith Snuffs in 25g Tins

A Rather Curious Peterson...

Two More Petersons

Another old Peterson...

Wilson's of Sharrow's New Web Site

A Peterson Patent 181 B (Short)

A Rustic Peterson 313

Rehydrating Snuff

About Snuff

On the Classification of Snuff

Moisture

Grind

Flavour

Colour

Snuff Storage

Samuel Gawith's Scotch Snuff

Why this blog?