Snuffbox Snuffbox

Margaret Bayard Smith, close friend the Madisons, once said of Dolley that “Her snuff-box had a magic influence, and seemed as perfect a security from hostility, as a participation of bread and salt is among many savage tribes. For who could partake of its contents, offered in a manner so gracious, and retain a feeling inimical to its owner?”

Dolley and many other fashionable women in the early 19th century dipped snuff, a nicotine stimulant made from ground tobacco leaves. Originally thought to have medicinal powers, snuff was inhaled through the nose or rubbed on the gums. Heavy taxes and duties were levied on snuff in the late 18th century, associating it with luxury and European style. This rectangular George III sterling silver snuff box with curved sides is typical of the small, elaborate boxes used throughout the period. Dolley’s features a bright-cut engraving inscribed with her initials. The interior features the maker’s mark of Charles A. Burnett (1769-1849), a well-known silversmith who produced wares for the Madisons at the President’s House and the Seven Buildings, and completed commissions for other prominent Washington families.