Message #49859

[Wattana]

Dear Inn Bok,

I am delighted to hear that you used to carry a snuff bottle around on a daily basis! It really does add another dimension to them. It did for me, at least.

That is interesting what you said about whether snuff-taking is a living tradition in the West. I think it is still quite popular in Germany and Austria. When visiting Innsbruck a few years ago I was walking past a tobacconist shop with my family when I stopped dead in my tracks. In the display window, alongside pipes and cigar cases, were several snuff bottles. I immediately went inside to examine them more closely. They were mostly made of salt-glaze pottery, of the type used for making German beer steins, and with similar decorative motifs. The shop assistant confirmed that the snuff bottles came from Bavaria, where they "still make them for local snuff-takers". They cost just a few Euros, and were perfectly functional.

Tom