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A pinch of snuff -

Snuff can be snorted. Simple! But pinching snuff is an art. Take a small amount of the powder between thumb and forefinger; this is known as a "pinch." This pinch is placed near one nostril and inhaled through the nose. It's exaggeration that does the trick. But what's the story behind this smokeless tobacco? And where did it originate?

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Made in Brazil -

The indigenous populations of Brazil were the first people known to have used ground tobacco as snuff. They pulverized  tobacco leaves using a mortar and pestle made of rosewood, where the tobacco would also acquire the delicate aroma of the wood. Pictured: Yanomami Indians sharing snuff in the Amazon.

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Arrival of snuff in Europe -

Snuff-taking by the Taino and Carib people of the Lesser Antilles was observed by the Franciscan friar Ramón Pané on Columbus' second voyage to the New World in 1493. While tobacco was introduced to Europeans in 1492 when Columbus first landed in the Americas (pictured), Friar Pané's return to Spain with snuff signaled its arrival in Europe and a habit that would last for centuries.

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Seville -

In the 16th century, Seville became Europe's first manufacturing and development center for snuff. The city's busy harbor is depicted in this 1594 illustration.

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Royal Tobacco Factory -

By the mid-18th century, tobacco manufacturing in Seville was thriving to the point where it was decided to build the Royal Tobacco Factory (Real Fábrica de Tabacos), Europe's first industrial tobacco factory producing snuff and auctioning tobacco. Scents were added to enhance flavor. The building still stands and now belongs to the University of Seville.

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Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589) -

Snuff was introduced to France and the Royal Court of Catherine de' Medici to treat the Italian noblewoman's persistent headaches. Catherine, who was also queen consort of France, was so impressed with its curative relieving properties that she promptly declared the tobacco be termed Herba Regina ("Queen Herb"). Snuff henceforth became very popular among French nobility.

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Dutch and snuff -

It was the Dutch who named the ground powdered tobacco "snuff" (snuif). By 1560, the product was being used widely throughout Holland. Pictured is an engraving showing an old woman in Amsterdam offering her husband a pinch of snuif.

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America sniffs snuff -

John Rolfe (1585–1622), the husband of Pocahontas, introduced snuff to North America in the early 17th century. While most colonists were indifferent to the product, American aristocrats were very much taken with the novel substance.

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Fancy a sniff? -

By the mid-17th century, snuff use in England, Scotland, and Ireland was commonplace. Many people believed it had valuable medicinal properties.

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Worldwide appeal -

Snuff's popularity was such that by 1650 it was being used widely throughout Europe as well as China, Japan, and some parts of Africa.

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Elite product -

Despite its widespread use, snuff was still regarded as the tobacco product of choice among the elite. Notable 18th-century snuffers including Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, and writer Samuel Johnson. Persons of high standing, including barristers (pictured), would also use snuff.

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Mass appeal -

Men of the cloth were not adverse to the odd pinch of tobacco, as this painting by Italian artist Canuto Borelli testifies. In fact, the 1800s saw powdered tobacco becoming more accessible to the masses.

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Penny pinching -

Snuff vendors could be seen on the road, peddling their wares in cities and out in the countryside.

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Social habit -

Very much in line with the modern habit of enjoying a cigarette with a drink, taking a pinch of snuff with a drop of beer was quite the norm in 19th-century Europe.

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Cure for all, or health hazard? -

Snuff's perceived medicinal benefits were taken advantage of by merchandisers eager to cash in on its popularity. This is an advertisement for Dr. Marshall's "Sure Cure for Catarrh Snuff" published in the Authentic World's Fair Journal, dated April 1893. However, concerns were already being raised about snuff's harmful qualities. For example, English author and botanist John Hill concluded nasal cancer could develop with the use of snuff.

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'Fred Ott's Sneeze' -

'Fred Ott's Sneeze' is an 1894 American black-and-white silent documentary film shot by William K.L. Dickson and starring Fred Ott. In the five-second film, Ott, one of Thomas Edison's assistants, takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes. Pictured is a paper print made from individual frames of the film.

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Oldest snuff shop in London -

This is the facade of Fribourg & Treyer, the oldest snuff shop in London, located at 34 Haymarket, in the heart of the city. The photograph was taken in 1906. Customers included the actor and playwright David Garrick, and King George IV.

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Listed building -

This is the same shop photographed in 2013. The business closed in 1981. Today, 34 Haymarket is a listed building. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0)

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Decline in use -

Snuff's popularity began to wane during the first half of the 20th century, giving way to the popularity of pipes, cigars, and cigarettes.

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Rare and valuable -

American officer James Rorimer (left), art expert at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and a G.I. are shown recovering a collection of snuff boxes belonging to the Rothschild Collection in Paris from Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, in 1945. They had been stolen by Hermann Göring, who had amassed works of art stolen from all over Europe to build up a personal museum in the castle. Antique snuffboxes today are extremely rare and valuable, and worth a small fortune.

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Gold snuffbox -

A snuffbox with kitchen scenes, probably 18th century. Gold snuffboxes and boxes decorated with portrait miniatures were prized luxury goods.

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Snuffbox with watch movement -

Designed to resemble a bonbonnière, a small fancy box for bonbons, this beautiful and elaborate snuffbox features a watch movement. It dates back to 1750.

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Upright design -

Made by German bench jeweler Johann Christian Neuber around 1760, this snuffbox is unusual for its upright design.

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Miniature works of art -

The lid of this snuffbox is replete with a miniature depicting the departure of Telemachus from Egypt. It was made by French goldsmith Charles Ouizille around 1780-81.

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Floral tribute -

A colorful and floral portrait of Charles I, Duke of Brunswick, decorates the lid of this late 18th-century snuffbox.

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Sniffing dog -

Snuffboxes were sometimes made to specific order. Here, the owner of this example was probably a dog lover and so requested a box in the shape of the head of a pug. The porcelain piece originates from the Meissener Porzellan Manufaktur in Meissen, Germany, and dates back circa 1740–1750.

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Snuff bottles -

Tobacco was introduced by the Portuguese to the court in Beijing some time during the mid- to late-16th century. However, smoking tobacco was illegal during the Qing dynasty. But the use of snuff was allowed because the Chinese considered the product to be a remedy for common illnesses such as colds, headaches, and stomach disorders. In China, the snuff bottle replaced the snuff box used by Europeans. Pictured is a pair of Qing dynasty snuff bottles with floral scrolls, c. 1736-1795.

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French snuff bottle -

This snuff bottle, c. 1800, is French made, created by master goldsmith Pierre-François-Mathis de Beaulieu.

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Snuff World Championship -

Did you know that there's a snuff world championship competition? It takes annually in Peutenhausen near Munich, Germany. The goal is to see which contestant can stuff up to five grams of snuff into his or her nostrils within a minute. Think you got a nose for it?

See also: 30 facts you didn't know about tobacco.

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