Early Printed Books, Manuscripts and Decorative Prints
MEIER, Adolphus Gustavus. The Practical Orthodontist
St. Louis, Kutterer-Jansen Printing Co., 1911.
£68
8vo, 56 pp., with 136 figures. Original dark green cloth with gilt-stamped title on front cover, blind-ruled four-fillet frame along edges. Inscription of provenance on top of first page. A thin, tight volume in fine condition.
HARRIS, Chapin A.. The Principles and Practice of Dentistry, including Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Dental Surgery and Mechanism.
Philadelphia, Lindsay & Blakiston, 1871.
£250
8vo, xxix, (3), 33-794 pp., plus 20 final leaves of “catalogue” of works on/relating to dentistry and other fields of medicine. “With four hundred and nine illustrations”, one coloured in red. Early ink autograph on left endpaper and other two owners’ stamps. Inscription in pen on right fly, mentioning bibliographical details. Bound in half black morocco and red buckram over boards. Red morocco label with gilt title to gilt spine. An excellent copy.
Tenth edition of this work by Harris, M. D., D.S.S., first published in 1839 in Baltimore as “The Dental Art, A Practical Treatise of Dental surgery”. This edition was revised and curated by Philip H. Austen, M. D.
A comprehensive manual concerning the hygiene and health of the mouth, listing practical methodologies and techniques and providing “the Principles of the Science, properly digested, the Experiments Detailed, the Manipulations Described, and the whole methodized”. It also deals with fillings, artificial teeth, dentures, etc., from Richardson, D.D.S. & M.D., who was a Midwestern professor of dentistry and metallurgy. “Art Association / of Jacksonville / by Dr. David Strawn”, stamped on left endpaper and blind-stamped logo on first leaves.
A comprehensive manual for the construction of fillings, artificial teeth, dentures, etc., from Richardson, D.D.S. & M.D., who was a Midwestern professor of dentistry and metallurgy. With substantial updates to this edition on the use of vulcanised rubbed and aluminum.Of the “Art Association / of Jacksonville / by Dr. David Strawn”, stamped on left endpaper and stamp with logo blind-tooled on first leaves.
THE WAR OFFICE. Training Notes for Clerk Orderlies of the Army Dental Corps (26, Manuals, 1388)
4t0, 29 pp., with illustrations and graphs, each leaf interleaved with blanks. Bound in original paper wrappers; “(Crown Copyright Reserved)”. Pen autograph of owner on upper outer corner.
“The wastage of fit soldiers through lack of proper dental care during World War I highlighted the need for formal organisation and proper provision and the Army Dental Corps was formed on 4th January 1921. Dental Surgeons were initially granted a Short Service Commission of six years with the opportunity for selection to a permanent commission whilst servicemen joined for an initial engagement of seven years and went to the Army Dental Corps School of Instruction in Aldershot to train as Dental Mechanics or Dental Clerk Orderlies. The interwar years had been a period of growth for the ADC as they firmly established their role and position within the life of the British Army. During World War Two the ADC expanded rapidly, in numbers of serving personnel, the number of Dental Centres in the UK and in the variety of courses and training available including general anaesthesia, dental prosthetics, dental radiography and maxillo-facial.” (from the website of the Museum of Military Medicine)
DENTAL BOARD OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. Hygiene of the Mouth and Teeth
Frome and London, Butler & Tanner Ltd., [1927?].
£120
8vo, 85 pp., with several b/w photographic facsimile illustrations and drawings. “Published by the Dental Board”, Dental Board’s logo on title-page, insert printed letter, dated “October 22 1927”, from Rt. Hon. Sir Francis Dyke Acland, Chairman of the Board. In 1917 he was appointed Chairman of the Departmental Committee “to inquire into the extent and gravity of the evils of dental practice by persons not qualified under the Dentists Act [1878].” Based on the recommendations of this committee a bill was introduced into parliament which eventually became the Dentists Act 1921 which established the Dental Board of the United Kingdom. Acland was appointed its first chairman – a position he held until his death.
HOWARD, Thomas. On the Loss of Teeth
London, Simpkin and Marshall (Printed by T. Brettell), 1855.
£350
12mo, 70 pp., 1 f. (dentist’s ads), plus frontispiece printed in blue of a female head profile and with slip overlay depicting a corrected jaw (the slip “represents the face of a Lady deprived of her Teeth, their loss occasioning that close approximation of the nose and chin so Characteristic of Old Age”, while the frontispiece underneath “represents the same Face restored to his original & Youthful appearance by the Aid of Artificial Teeth as supplied by Mr Thomas Howard”). Bookplate of Robert Washington Oates with motto “esse quam videri” on left pastedown. Publisher’s blind stamped cloth, gilt title on left cover. In perfect condition, almost mint.
A scarce treatise on dentistry dedicated to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Fifteenth edition (as stated on title page). The author, who was personal surgeon dentist to the Primate of England, discusses various aspects of managing teeth and gum health such as how to cure and prevent toothaches, dental surgery procedures, preservation of teeth, use of artificial teeth, and foods and their effects on teeth. Howard uphold that “It is the duty of all, and the wish of the benevolent, to preserve their health and personal appearance for the satisfaction of those who love them”, p. 33.
On the owner: “Robert Washington Oates (1874-1958) was born in London and educated in Belgium and Germany. He served in the First World War as a private soldier, at the same time amassing a considerable fortune through his financial interest in a firm of industrial chemists. After the war he became an antique dealer, gaining an international reputation in the antiquarian book-trade. In 1954 Oates was instrumental in securing Gilbert White’s home, The Wakes, as a permanent memorial to the naturalist and author. There he established the Oates Memorial Museum and Library, which commemorated two members of his own family, his cousin, Captain Lawrence Oates (1880-1912), a member of the Scott’s Antarctic Expedition and his uncle, Frank Oates (1840-1875) who was one of the first Europeans to see the Victoria Falls. At that time, the Library was reported to amount to 40,000 books. Two collections of books from the Oates Memorial Library were acquired by the University in 1970.” (from the website of Southampton Library: http://library.soton.ac.uk/oatesafrica)
AN EXCELLENT POCKET BOOK ON DENTAL HYGIENE
BOURDET, Etienne. Soins faciles pour la propreté de la Bouche, pour la conservation des Dents
Paris, Chez Jean-Th. Hérissant, 1771.
£775
16mo, 248 pp., 2 ff.. Roman letter, some Italic. Head pieces. Bound in mottled calf over boards, marbled pastedowns, single fillet frame blind-tooled along edges, gilt spine with title on red morocco label, a.e.r.. A little rubbed to spine ends, corners and cover extremities. A lovely copy.
Second enlarged edition of this work on dentistry by Etienne Bourdet (the first edition, published in 1759, had only 136 pages). A pupil of Pierre Fauchard, Bourdet was one of the most renowned dentist of his time. He soon entered in the service of Louis XV as personal dental surgeon. The king later elevated him to noble ranks for his professional merit. The author discusses the importance of the teeth both as embellishments to physical appearance and as cutting tools essential to life. He also stresses the need for oral hygiene in order to prevent infection of the bloodstream by the swallowing of impure saliva. The work is divided into sections on keeping the mouth healthy, on preventing damage to the teeth, and on repairing damage caused by neglect or accident. For toothache Bourdet prescribes luxation, through which the dental nerve was disrupted at the root. There are also observations on false teeth, and advice to parents and to others bringing up children. Part of the material is drawn from Bourdet’s “Recherches sur toutes les parties de l’Art du Dentiste” published in Paris in 1757.
“According to Bourdet, the teeth are so apt to decay, partly because of the frequent changes of temperature to which they are exposed, and partly because, differently from the bones, they are not provided with any protective organic covering. In many caries, Bourdet extracted the tooth, filled it with lead or gold leaf, and replanted it; but if, in extracting, the alveolus had been injured…he replanted the tooth immediately, to preserve the alveolus from the damaging action of the air, and carried out the stopping at a later time…Bourdet made prosthetic pieces… [but] one of his principal merits is that of having brought artificial plates to perfection by fixing them not, as heretofore, to the opening of the palate or inside the nose, but by means of lateral clasps fitted to the teeth… Bourdet wrote an excellent book on dental hygiene” (Guerini)
David p.39, Poletti p.31, Weinberger p.316, Guerini p. 309: “A celebrated dentist and elegant writer, in whom the gifts of literary and scientific culture were coupled with a vast experience and a profound spirit of observaton.” Blake p.61, Wellcome II p. 213; Quaritch, Cat. 1197, 10.