Samuel Gawith Skiff Mixture, circa 1940s to 1950s, 2 oz Cutter Tin and Preserved Contents

The opening of this tin was filmed in July 2025 for the Pipe Appeal channel. You can watch it here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdjD1A-_2XU

In the middle years of the twentieth century, pipe tobacco was not a hobby. It was part of the room. A chair, a lamp, the radio low, and something steady in the bowl while the day came off your shoulders.

Skiff Mixture was built for that kind of living. Virginias for body. Orientals for lift and dryness. Latakia present, but controlled. A mixture with manners.

This lot comes from a mid century cutter tin in the 2 oz size. The label reads manufactured in the heart of English Lakeland for 150 years, product of the House of Samuel Gawith, Kendal, England. That wording places the label copy at 1942 or later.

In more than fifteen years of collecting, I have never encountered another cutter tin of Samuel Gawith in the wild. The empty cutter tin is included with this lot. It is collectible in its own right, and it serves as the record of what the tobacco originally was and where it came from.

The tin was opened during filming. The contents were examined, and the tobacco was transferred immediately into a mason jar. The jar was sealed at that time and it has not been opened since. After filming, I sampled one small bowl. The remainder has been left intact.

Nearly the full original contents remain.

The ribbon is dark and relaxed. The aroma is settled and complete. The Latakia has mellowed into a round, leathery smokiness. The Virginias have deepened into a gentle sweetness. The Orientals sit quietly in the background, adding a dry spice and a faint herbal edge. When sampled, it burned evenly and stayed steady through the bowl without needing attention.

Skiff Mixture is still produced today. This is leaf from an earlier period, shaped by decades of rest rather than a modern tin date. The character that develops here cannot be arranged on purpose. It only happens when tobacco is left alone long enough.

With the exception of the jar photograph, all other images were taken at the time of filming in July 2025.

Stored sealed, cool, and dark since filming.

Offered so it may now pass into another cellar, to be enjoyed the same way it would have been enjoyed then.

Details:

-Mid century Samuel Gawith cutter tin, 2 oz size
-Tin label notes manufactured in the heart of English Lakeland for 150 years
-Product of the House of Samuel Gawith, Kendal, England
-Opened during filming in July 2025 and transferred immediately to a mason jar
-Jar sealed in July 2025 and not opened since
-One small bowl sampled after filming
-Nearly full remaining contents
-Original empty cutter tin included with lot
-With the exception of the jar photograph, all other images taken during filming in July 2025

This auction contains tobacco.  If you live in certain states, you will be unable to purchase this product.