Snus Box

This box is made from a cow horn, a wood cover and bottom, leather pull, and a small iron nail. It shows the ingenuity of people with limited resources; and follows the Swedish tradition of form following function, using at-hand materials to their best benefit.

The round cow horn shape can be changed by soaking it in hot water, removing it from the water, and placing an object on top which placed pressure on the sides to become oval as it dried (if you did not have access to an animal with oval-shaped horns).

The next step was to carve the wooden bottom and top to fit the horn, add the leather strip as a handle, and anchor the strip on the underside with an iron nail. When finished, you have produced a snus box! The shape made it easy to get a good finger full, then slip the box into one’s shirt pocket.

Snus (chewing tobacco) was heavily used and enjoyed by both men and women. Tobacco was the driving force for the first Swedish immigrants to the United States in 1638 to Delaware. The Swedish Crown wanted to get into the tobacco business to compete for wealth with the English and Dutch.

Snus is placed between the upper lip and gum for extended periods of time. Although used similarly to American dipping tobacco, snus does not typically result in the need for spitting.

Categories: All, Home and Living, Home and Living - Container Tags: artifact, container, cow horn, handmade, iron, leather, snus, snus box, tobacco, wood