Snuff Box, 1914

Snuff Box, 1914 1970/59

Games This Snuff Box was awarded as a prize in a shooting competition at the 1914 Alva Games. Alva is a small town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. The first Alva Games in 1857 was gymnastics only. It has grown into an annual competition where athletes from around the world participate in a variety of sports from running and cycling to Highland sports like caber tossing. Snuff This canister was used for storing powdered tobacco known as Snuff. Snuff is made by combining pulverised tobacco leaves with flavours derived from spices, fruits, and flowers. It is consumed by taking a pinch of the powder, placing it on the back of the user’s hand and inhaling it into the nose. Keratin This Snuff Box is made from a ram’s horn. Sheep horns are made of keratin, a structural protein that, in vertebrates, makes finger and toenails, hair, and feathers. Used by animals for foraging, fighting and courtship, humans have utilised the horns of slaughtered animals in everything from coat buttons to guns. Box This is a personal Snuff Box, designed to be carried around in its owner’s pocket. Snuff is a powdered tobacco that dries out and loses its quality if exposed to air. This meant personal Snuff Boxes needed to be airtight. This Scottish example is made of horn and still contains some original Snuff.