Dentistry - Dubois de Chemant, Nicholas
£1,200
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 6 May 2015 at 12:00 BST
Description
A dissertation on artificial teeth in general. London: J. Barker, 1797. First edition in English, 4to, disbound, (ivpp. + 5-28pp.), 1 engraved mezzotint plate, title a little dust stained, an excellent copy preserved in a cloth box, [Garrison & Morton 3677; Menzies Campbell 43; Crowley 1534; not in Poletti or Weinberger; Dechaume & Huard. Histoire Illustré de l'Art Dentaire, 1977, pp. 91-93; ESTC: T34646]
Footnote
Note: First edition in English - the very rare quarto. Dubois de Chemant (1753-1824) was the father of false teeth. He was a Parisian dentist who was the first to manufacture porcelain teeth by a process modified from that originally invented by an apothecary named Duchateau in 1776. As his patented teeth did not prove to be popular in France, Dubois de Chemant moved to London and took out an English patent. First published in Paris in 1788 as Dissertation sur les avantages des nouvelles dents, et retailers artificiels, incorruptibles et sans odeur, and a second French edition appeared in 1790. The book was first published in English translation in London in quarto and octavo in 1797.