If you have not yet taken the time to explore this web site, I highly recommend it. MAPCO : Map and Plan Collection Online is a treasure trove of historical maps of London and the British Isles. There are other maps available at the site, including some of various locales in Australia. Needless to say, my primary interest in the site is for the Regency-era maps of London and England which are presented in the MAPCO archives.

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Last week I wrote about snuff, the luxury tobacco of Regency England. Like tobacco products today, there were a number of specialty articles created for the use of all those stylish snuff-takers. Snuff had to be transported and stored correctly in order to maintain its correct moisture level and flavor. The use of snuff required special personal articles to convey the powdered tobacco and tidy up after its use.

Elegant accoutrements were essential for the dashing dandy to maintain his fashionable image while offering snuff to his friends or taking it himself. Justin Alistair, Duke of Avon, certainly had a most graceful manner when offering or taking snuff, which was completely in keeping with the time in which These Old Shades was set. And, of course, his snuff box was an exquisite complement both to his wardrobe and to his elegant snuff-taking style. More than fifty years later, during the English Regency, little had changed. The snuff-box was still a crucial article of a gentleman's attire.

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Snuff is another commodity to which I was introduced by the historical novels of Georgette Heyer. On first reading, it was not clear to me from the context of the story just what snuff was. Once again, I had resort to the nearest dictionary, where I discovered it was a form of tobacco. It was not until many years later that I learned snuff had a long and storied history and that it is still used by many people, even today.

For more than a century, snuff was the luxury tobacco of choice for noblemen, and women, across Europe. Yet by the death of George IV, an avid snuff-taker, this powdered form of tobacco was falling out of favor. Within twenty years of his passing, snuff consumption had dwindled to a trickle and had lost its fashionable status among the elite. The Regency was the end of what might be called the "Golden Age of Snuff."

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The Brattle Book Shop is without doubt my favorite used book shop in Boston. It was not around during the Regency, but it was founded in 1825, during the reign of the former Prince Regent, George IV. It is possible that visitors to Massachusetts from the British Isles who had lived through the years of the Regency might have paid a visit to the shop while they were in Boston, so there is a tenuous connection between The Brattle Book Shop and the English Regency.

So, what do I like the most about The Brattle Book Shop?

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