'A Tooth Amiss'

Charles Brock illustration for Emma.

A London dentist in the 18th century. 

If you had a ‘tooth amiss’, like Harriet Smith in Emma (published 200 years ago this year), you would consult a dentist (if in staying in town) or a ‘tooth-drawer’. Local barbers would pull out rotting teeth, too. 

But if living in the countryside, you may have had to resort to the local blacksmith to have your teeth extracted.

If you required new teeth, you could buy a set of the new ‘mineral’ (porcelain) teeth from France.

Or your dentist might equip you with ‘Waterloo teeth’ - dentures of human teeth extracted from the soldiers’ bodies strewn across the battlefield. 

Teeth were also harvested from corpses (the fresher the better) supplied by the ‘resurrection men’, as grave-robbers were jocularly known.

‘Resurrection men’ illegally dug up freshly buried corpses from graveyards to supply surgeons with bodies so that they could practise their dissection skills. Their depredations were so notorious that watchmen were employed to guard churchyards overnight. 

Watchtower, Eyemouth, Scotland.

To keep their teeth clean, Regency ladies used tooth-powder made from charcoal or coconut shells.‘Ashes of tobacco’ were said to ‘make the teeth white’, but were deemed ‘too indelicate’ for ladies’ use (Lady’s Magazine, September 1775).  

Toothpicks made from goose quills, or ivory, or precious metals like gold and silver helped to keep teeth clean after meals. In Sense and Sensibility, the Dashwood sisters were detained for some time at Gray’s (the jeweller’s) in Sackville St while gentleman Robert Ferrars hesitated over choosing a toothpick case: ‘At last the affair was decided.  The ivory, the gold, and the pearls, all received their appointment; and the gentleman having named the last day on which his existence could be continued without the possession of the toothpick-case, drew on his gloves with leisurely care and … walked off with a happy air of real conceit and affected indifference’. 

Images:

Charles Brock illustration courtesy of Mollands. 'A London Dentist' courtesy Library of Congress.

Photo of Eyemouth watch tower © Sue Wilkes.

Waterloo 200

The Iron Duke at Waterloo.

On the morning of the battle of Waterloo, Marshal Soult dared to question Napoleon’s plans. Napoleon snapped, ‘Because you have been beaten by Wellington, you think he is a great man.’ But he’d finally met his match. Bonaparte’s decisive defeat by coalition forces at Waterloo on 18 June 1815 ended his career, and decades of war.

The Duke of Wellington was a national hero, but Waterloo had a massive human cost; over 11,600 British and Hanoverian troops died in this battle alone. Relief funds were set up to aid the widows and orphans of British soldiers killed during the war.

Many special events are planned to remember this landmark battle. You can watch live re-enactments of the main battles on the internet (subscription payable) - tickets to see the events in person are sold out. 

However, if you can't make it to Belgium, there’s a guide to the battlefield here, and the National Army Museum is commemorating the bicentenary with a series of events and exhibitions across the UK (some free) And if your ancestor fought at Waterloo, you may be interested in the Waterloo 200 Descendants Book. 

Images from the author's collection:

The Duke of Wellington on the Field of Waterloo. Cassell’s Illustrated History of England Vol. VI, (Cassell, Petter and Galpin, c.1864).

Napoleon, from an old engraving of a picture by Bouillon. Napoleon: Warrior and Ruler, (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1893).

Formation of the Lines of Battle at Waterloo. Napoleon: Warrior and Ruler, (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1893.)