Wychwood Books is proud to announce the publication of this volume of satirical dentistry cartoons, as far as we are aware this is the first time an unusual collection of dentistry caricatures has been compiled.

There was an extraordinary paucity of material depicting dental quackery from this period, the British Museum lists some 8500 political and personal cartoons of which only 10 are related to dentistry. Thus today dentistry prints are notoriously rare, expensive and are eagerly sought after.

" Acute Pain" by John Collier 1708 - 1786

This book contains work by the great caricaturists of the period: Thomas Rowlandson, John Collier, George Cruikshank, Edward Dighton, William Davison, Matthew Darly, Louis Leopold Boilly.

The caricatures you will find illustrated reflect life in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Brutal, painful and usually short; but leavened with a large dose of the peculiarly Georgian style of humour, which was gloriously grotesque and bawdy. The dilemma toothache sufferers faced is captured with humour and horror, richly illustrating the practices of the day prior to the use of anaesthetic.

"The Golden Remedy or Electrical Panacea"

by George Cruikshank (1792 - 1878)

It was not uncommon for the local farrier to draw teeth to relieve toothache of those in desperate pain, for then the blacksmith in many rural communities doubled as a tooth drawer. There were many dubious practices adopted: hot coals, string, forceps, and pliers to name a few. Children were lured to sacrifice their teeth for the supposed benefit of the wealthy in exchange for only a few shillings. One print reads: “Most money given for live teeth”! Today the horror of visiting the dentist has largely been removed due to the arrival of anaesthesia, clutching a bottle of liquor would have been your only chance of pain relief in Georgian England.

Steel Balsm" by Louis Leopold Boilly (1761 - 1845)

The publication paints a vivid picture of dental quackery and reflects life in Georgian England we hope it will appeal not only to dentists but all those who are interested in the visual history of the 18th and 19th Century. Next time you visit your dentist, give thanks that you are in the hands of a highly trained specialist and not someone whose last patient was a cart horse!

This intriguing tome has been published with care and attention, the prints have been finely reproduced and are mostly in actual size, eleven of which are in colour and each print has a detailed description on the facing page.

"The Dentist" by Mathew Darly (1741 - 1792)