Snuff bottles in the Quing dynasty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snuff_bottle Collectors of Snuff bottles # Snuff bottle collector snuffbottlecollector.com Extensive collection of inside painted snuff bottles. # The International Chinese Snuff Bottle Society - Home www.snuffbottle.org/ The Chinese Snuff Bottle Society of America, Inc. was formed in 1968 as the first society to honor snuff bottle collectors and to publish scholarly articles

Snuff taking by the native peoples of modern-day Haiti was observed by a Spanish monk named Ramon Pane on Columbus' second journey to the Americas during 1493-1496. In 1561 Jean Nicot, the French ambassador in Lisbon, Portugal, sent snuff to Catherine de Medici to treat her son's persistent migraines.Her belief in its curative properties helped to popularise snuff among the elite. By the 17th century some prominent objectors to snuff taking arose. Pope Urban VIII threatened to excommunicate snuff takers. In Russia in 1643, Tsar Michael instituted the punishment of removing of the nose of those who used snuff. Despite this, use persisted elsewhere; King Louis XIII of France was a devout snuff taker, and by 1638, snuff use had been reported to be spreading in China. By the 18th century, snuff had become the tobacco product of choice among the elite, prominent users including Napoleon, King George III's wife Queen Charlotte, and Pope Benedict XIII. The taking of snuff helped to distinguish the elite members of society from the common populace, which generally smoked its tobacco. It was also during the 18th century that an English doctor, John Hill, warned of the overuse of snuff, causing vulnerability to nasal cancers.Snuff's image as an aristocratic luxury attracted the first U.S. federal tax on tobacco, created in 1794. { Wikipedia]