Another object of fascination: snuff boxes. I came across a large collection of snuff boxes bearing Master Betty’s image while I was doing research at the Folger Shakespeare Library several years ago but I haven’t had time to reflect on their significance until now. Though one of my next steps will involve looking for histories of smoking, snuff taking, snuff box collecting, snuff box portraiture, and the like, I’ve found several excellent blog posts to get me started (though unfortunately, most of the posts forego citations). Here are a few:
On snuff box collectors and snuff takers, including C18 star actor/manager David Garrick
On Lord Byron and Beau Brummell, both serious snuff box collectors and snuff takers