Created by Rodica StătescuSource: http://liveinternet.ru/users/margarita49/Automatic transition

It all began in the XVI century, when the French ambassador, Jean Nico sent the Queen of France Catherine de 'Medici, who suffered from migraines, popular in Portugal, snuff tobacco. It was believed

that tobacco, if its smell, cure migraines. And help! When Catherine's son, Francis II sniffing tobacco became fashionable, and under Louis

XIV part of etiquette. Naturally, this fascination has not spared Russia. Luxury grandee of Catherine's court treated each other snuff tobacco, and snuff boxes became a kind of jewelry. Produced musical snuff boxes, which played popular tunes at opening. Snuff penetrated into the life of various strata of the population. Even the Tin Soldier in

the tale of Andersen admires the beautiful lady, leaning against a snuffbox on the table.

XVIII century was truly the century of snuff. The Prussian king Frederick the Great in 1740, inherited 600 such small boxes, and after 46 years has left behind for about a half thousand. Prince de Conti had 800 snuff. The numbers are impressive: a collection of

today can boast the only major museums! The reason is that each change of dress required of the mod change snuff. For their

production using a variety of materials: gold and precious stones, aluminum (at that time tsenivshiysya than gold) and steel, tortoise

shell and shagreen (galyusha), porcelain, and birch bark. For fans of tobaccos of different varieties were invented been

severed from snuff boxes, each compartment in which was covered with a special lid. These boxes were used for secret mail. To be able

to open one more outlet for women I know, and another - for her husband, snuff boxes were made bilateral. The same design is

perfectly suited for the miser, who preferred to treat each other tobbacco shabbier.