CMC D-2436

In the nineteenth century, a man of manners carried snuff, a powdered and perfumed form of tobacco, in a small, ornamented box of precious metal. The gentlemanly art of taking snuff involved an elegant pinch of this special tobacco inhaled up the nose, followed by a discreet sneeze.

"Hon'ble J.A. Macdonald" is inscribed across the top of this rococo-style, rectangular snuffbox with gilded interior. The box was once owned by Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.