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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