Virtual Museum: History of Dentistry
We invite you to explore our interactive digital museum, where some of NYU Dentistry's historical artifacts — dental tools, oral hygiene implements, gold toothpicks, tooth powder bottles, brushes, and toothache patent medicine bottles from the 1600s to the early 1900s — have been scanned and rendered in 3D and can be manipulated for full inspection. Click on any of the artifacts below to get a full view.
PATENT MEDICINE
Franklin’s Pain Relief was made by the Franklin’s Company of 3252 Wallace Street, Chicago. It claimed to be effective for "Relief for Rheumatism, Neuralgia, Earache, Headache, Sprains, Burns, Bruises, Toothache, Cramps, Sore Throat, Scalds, Catarrh, Deafness, Colic Pains, Diarrhoea, Dysentery, Chilblains, Pterrisy Colera Morbus, etc." In a word, everything. It was not unusual for Patent Medicine Men to claim their product worked on pain of diverse aetiologies. The claim was usually overblown. We know very little of the company or its product. Occasionally a legal proceeding is reported involving a Patent Medicine Co. In 1911 and again in 1913, Franklin Laboratory of 3252 Wallace Street was represented by Charles Jones of Chicago in legal proceedings with the State of Wisconsin. No doubt, some (repeated) illegal activity across state lines. Such activities were scrutinized after the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act the US Congress passed. It was meant to curb false advertisement and exaggerated claims.
Dr. Lyon’s Tooth Powder made by R.L. Watkins Company of Cleveland, OH was established in 1866 by Dr. J.W. Lyon. The toothpowder was a predecessor of the toothpaste. Indian, Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks recommended wiping one’s teeth with abrasive materials with a cloth dipped in honey to wipe off one’s teeth. Content of tooth powder varied over centuries. They included crushed bone, eggshelloyster shell, salt, chalk, pumice, soot vinegar, wine or honey.
In 1606, Peter van Foreest, a Dutch physician described six dentifrices for maintenance of dental health that ontained cinnamon and mint water (for taste and active ingredient), Arabic gum (for consistency), pulverized bone, pumice, or salt (as abrasive agents) and rose water or white wine (as solvents), much like current toothpaste.
In 1892 toothpowder was substituted for a softer toothpaste when a CT dentist adopted the painter’s collapsible tube watching Parisian painters. Four years later, Colgate issued its first Ribbon Dental Cream.
Dr. Lyon’s Tooth Powder made by R.L. Watkins Company of Cleveland, OH was established in 1866 by Dr. J.W. Lyon. The toothpowder was a predecessor of the toothpaste. Indian, Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks recommended wiping one’s teeth with abrasive materials with a cloth dipped in honey to wipe off one’s teeth. Content of tooth powder varied over centuries. They included crushed bone, eggshelloyster shell, salt, chalk, pumice, soot vinegar, wine or honey.
In 1606, Peter van Foreest, a Dutch physician described six dentifrices for maintenance of dental health that ontained cinnamon and mint water (for taste and active ingredient), Arabic gum (for consistency), pulverized bone, pumice, or salt (as abrasive agents) and rose water or white wine (as solvents), much like current toothpaste.
In 1892 toothpowder was substituted for a softer toothpaste when a CT dentist adopted the painter’s collapsible tube watching Parisian painters. Four years later, Colgate issued its first Ribbon Dental Cream.
Listerine is well known today as a widely available mouthwash. Its name was given in the honor of the Scottish Surgeon, Sir Joseph Lister, father of the antiseptic surgery. The first batch of Listerine was made in 1879 in St. Louis, MO, by two of the company founders, Jospeh Lawrence and Wheat Lambert, of the now famous and multiple times merged company. Known at one point Warner-Lambert, the company now is part of Pfizer. This bottle is most like from the very end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.
Lightning Cure for Toothache, Headache and Neuralgia was developed by W.E Starling from Raleigh, NC. Very little is known about the product or the manufacturer. W.E. Starling must have been one of the many Patent Medicine peddlers at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, pushing a product with boastful advertisement. Many such products contained (now) controlled substances, but at the time were unregulated. In 1906 Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act to control unsubstantiated claims and harmful and fraudulent advertisements. The congressional act set the stage later on for the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Dr. H. A. Tucker’s Diaphoretic No 59 Compound, was made by Dr. H. A Tucker of Brooklyn, NY and advertised as early as 1878. It claimed to cure “colic cramps, spasmodic affections, cholera, dysentery & summer complaints, sudden colds, coughs, fevers, ague, asthma, dyspepsia, heartburn, headache, ague in the face, toothache, neuralgia, rheumatic affections, bruises, sprains, wounds of all kinds, cold feet, chilblains, corns, burns, frost bites, numbness, paralysis, white swelling, felons, boils. ringworms, old sores, poison by ivy, dogwood, stings of bees and bites of poisonous insects &c”. Quite a list! In 1906 the US Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, a precursor of the FDA, to curb false advertisement and the use of controlled substances. The Company was fined several times for false advertisement in the 1910 and 1920s.
Dr. Clark W. Dunlop, a controversial figure, was trained at the Eclectic Medical College of the City of New York and had a successful practice. Born in 1845, after medical school, he created the United States Medicine Co in New York, NY, that produced a variety of patent medicines. The practice and his patent medications made him wildly rich. He purchased real estate in Chicago and Kansas City and settled at 112 West 86th street in New York. In 1894 he built himself and his wife Eliza, a fancy Mausoleum at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. For the fate of Dr. Dunlop, read Douglas Keister’s piece on the Dunlop Mausoleum https://www.mausoleums.com/portfolio/dunlop-mausoleum. Dunlop’s King of Pain was a pain killer containing 30% alcohol and chloroform for quick abbsorption and claimed to have an effect on a larger range of conditions from cholera to colic, diarrhoea, dysentery to toothache. We do not know the active ingredient but it was created at a time when narcotics were not controlled.
Brown’s Instant Relief for Pain was made in Norway, Maine in 1887 by a company started by George W. Brown and L.F. Pike. In 1889, Brown sold the company to Fred W. Sanborn, the owner of a local newspaper, the Norway Advertiser. Along with Norway Medicine Co., the main producer of the drug was Cook, Everett & Pennell, wholesale druggists of Portland, ME. It is probably from 1888 and sold for 30 cents. An advertisement from 1889 shows an old patient throwing away his cane and sling and dancing in happiness, with a label “Brown’s Instant Relief Did It” written across the bottom. It claimed to provide a “speedy cure for coughs, colds, chills, cuts, croup, cramps, colic, cholera morbus, dysentery, neuralgia, rheumatism, toothache, sore throat, asthma, diphtheria” and to be “equally good for man or beast.” Although no composition is provided, the product contained 50% alcohol, chloroform, ether and very likely narcotics, not controlled at the time. The product was still made in Norway, ME well into the 1930s.
Brown’s Panacea was a Patent Medicine painkiller with undisclosed content. It was made by Curtis and Brown of 215 Fulton Street, New York. It claimed to cure “Rheumatic Afflictions in the limbs or back”, toothache, burns and scalds, etc. Patent Medicine flourished in the second half of the 19th Century. Liniments, nostrums, elixirs, painkillers were sold with exaggerated or outright fraudulent claims. Most liniments contained volatile compounds, various oils, camphor, ether or alcohol for fast absorption and had some calming effect. Some of the liniments contained narcotics, at the time uncontrolled, including cocaine, morphine, or heroin. Addiction was rampant. Some medications lead to death, especially when children were treated for teething. In 1906 Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act that curbed excessive and unsubstantiated claims in advertising and introduced measures for addictive substances. This bottle is most likely from from late 19th century.
Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a prominent position. NYU College of Dentistry has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. This and many featured in this virtual museum belong to this collection. Broad’s Instant Pain Killer was manufactured by Mrs. Dr. L. Broad, druggist from 329 Washington Street, Buffalo, NY. It claimed to cure “rheumatism, neuralgia, sprains, bruises, pains in the limbs, stiffness of the joints, swellings, freezes, chilblains, burns, ague in the breast or face, toothache, headache, canker, nursing sore mouth, putrid and inflammatory sore throat, pleurisy, lameness, of the back, kidney complaint or cramp, colic, disentery, inflammation of the lungs”, just about everything.
This liniment was one of many products on the “patent medicine” market at the end of the 19th century. It was manufactured by the William W. Brownfield company of St. Louis, MO. Brownfield’s Liniment claimed to treat rheumatism, weak back, stiff neck, colds and tightness of chest, neuralgia and all pains, soreness, strains and bruises, including Cholera Morbus, internal pain, cramps, colic, in a word, everything. It was not unusual for “patent medications” to have exagerated claims. Congress clamped down on such frivolous claims in 1906. Many companies were fined and went bancrupt. The William W. Brownfield company filed for a trademark and patents for a pill against chills and fever in 1879 but by 1903, the name changed to Brownfield Medicine Co., and owned at least 50,000 stocks. However, by the following year they appear to have seized to exist. The bottle in our collection is written in both English and German. Mr. Brownfiled was most likely of German ancestry or was appealing to a German audience.
The McMunn Elixir of Opium was first formulated in 1837 by Dr. John B. McMunn (c. 1803-1867) but popularized in 1841 when it was sold to Abraham B. & David Sands, Wholesale Druggists in New York. By 1859, the company was ordering 80 million glass bottles annually from the Folembray Glass Works in France. McMunn Elixir was advertised as a pain remedy for ailments including tetanus, epilepsy, hysteria, hydrophobia, toothache and even for difficult births. It was said to be “greatly superior to morphine” and “excluded all of the noxious, deleterious, and useless principles” associated with morphine. It falsely claimed to be free of the addictive properties usually found in other opium/morphine products and suggested that it may be a “gratifying substitute” for those who practice “vitiated indulgence”. This claim was attributed to a chemical modification that removed Narcotine, believed to be the addictive chemical of opium. It was later discovered that Narcotine is not the addictive agent in opium.
From the Ancient Greeks magnetism received considerable attention. During the 2d C. Han Dynasty the first compass using loadstone (magnetite) was designed. In 1600 William Gilbert, physician to Queen Elisabeth I of England wrote a whole treatise on magnetism (De Magnete). In the 18th century, Anton Mesmer, the Austrian physician used “animal magnetism” to heal patients (“to Mesmerize them”). Finally, magnetism found a ready audience during the 19th century Patent Medicine craze when the term “magnetism” was used on pain killer labels without much regard to the truth.
Dr. J.R. Miller’s Universal Magnetic Balm was made by its name sake in 1860 in Syracuse. The product was recommended for a variety of conditions, colds, sore throat, fever, toothache, cholera, etc. Although we do not know the composition of this product, for sure it was not “magnetic”. Similar “magnetic” liniments contained ether, alcohol, origanum oil, tincture of cantharides and muriatic ammonia. This bottle is from the late 19th century.
Manufactured by Hand Medicine Co, successor to D.B. Hand, M.D., the bottle is most likely from the early 1900s. The company first advertised in 1860 when it was established in Scranton PA. It produced a variety of elixirs for children to counter perceived teething pain, colic, inflammation of the gum. Teething related complications was a misunderstanding dating back to ancient times when it was assumed to lead to pain, colic and even death. In 1575, Ambroise Paré, the famous French barber-surgeon, suggested lancing of the gums to help ease eruption of the teeth. In the 18th century application of leeches behind the ear to help rebalance the humors was further suggested. In the 19th century with the advent of patent medicines many drug makers jumped on the “teething medication bandwagon”. Dr. Hand’s Teething Lotion is just one of many that were sold at the time. In 1948, the company was bought by Smith, Kline and French Labs of Philadelphia.
Listerine is well known today as a widely available mouthwash. Its name was given in the honor of the Scottish Surgeon, Sir Joseph Lister, father of the antiseptic surgery. The first batch of Listerine was made in 1879 in St. Louis, MO, by two of the company founders, Jospeh Lawrence and Wheat Lambert, of the now famous and multiple times merged company. Known at one point Warner-Lambert, the company now is part of Pfizer. This bottle is most like from the very end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.
Dr. Phillip’s Tooth Powder was made by the Charles H. Phillips Chemical Co. Glenbrook, CT. The toothpowder was a predecessor of the toothpaste. Indian, Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks recommended wiping one’s teeth with abrasive materials with a cloth dipped in honey to wipe off one’s teeth. Content of tooth powder varied over centuries. They included crushed bone, eggshelloyster shell, salt, chalk, pumice, soot vinegar, wine or honey. In 1606, Peter van Foreest, a Dutch physician described six dentifrices for maintenance of dental health that ontained cinnamon and mint water (for taste and active ingredient), Arabic gum (for consistency), pulverized bone, pumice, or salt (as abrasive agents) and rose water or white wine (as solvents), much like current toothpaste. In 1892 toothpowder was substituted for a softer toothpaste when a CT dentist adopted the painter’s collapsible tube watching Parisian painters. Four years later, Colgate issued its first Ribbon Dental Cream. This bottle is likely from the 1920s.
Dr. Sayman’s Wonder Liniment was made by Dr. T.M. Sayman of St. Louis, Mo. It contained 57% alcohol!, chloroform, siempre viva (immortal plant, or witches herb), camphor, vegetable oils and other unnamed components, claiming to treat 18 different painful and infectious conditions, from lame back to sore nipples. Dr. Sayman started his company in 1877. Sayman’s Wonder Liniment was one of many Patent Medications making false or exagerated claims sold primarily at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. During its long history, the company was subjected to repeated fines and lawsuits. For instance in 1934, Dr. Sayman’s Liniment was fined $1,000 and legal costs for false and fraudulent claims. Clearly profit outstripped legal costs and penalties and the company continued to sell its “wonder” products. For instance, Dr. Sayman’s Wonder Rub, is still sold today on Amazon…
Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine. In times of crisis desperate patients believe in extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a preeminent position. Many teething syrups (see DeWitt’s Syrup in our collection), contained narcotics and were linked to infant death at the end of the 19th century. In 1906 Congress introduced The Pure Food and Drug Act to stop unsubstantiated claims. According to the Smithonian, Cascasweet contained wormseed, cascara, rhubarb, pumpkin seed, alex senna, rochelle salts, anise seed in 5% alcohol. Made by the E.C.DeWitt @Co. in New York and Chicago. Teething was considered painful since Hippocrates in Ancient Greece, a condition requiring intervention. Because infant mortality was high prior to modern times and coincidental with teething, they mistakenly linked the two and suggested intervention. This led to surgical (lancing of the gum) intervention or medication, all for a nonexistent condition.
Circus Liniment was a typical Patent Medication sold without any regulation at the end of the 19th and early 20th century. Claimed to releive pain from rheumatism to chilblains, from burns to ringworms, in a word, everything. This bottle is 16 cm (5.5”) x 2 cm (3/4”) and was produced by J.H. LaPearl’s of the Williams Chemical Co. of Chicago. No composition is given on its label, but many contained (now) controlled subtances such as morphine or cocaine, dissolved in some organic solvent. By 1905 the AMA had enough. It convinced Congress to regulate such products. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act and reinforced it with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive and dangerous substances. The modern-day use of social media to advertise quack medicine is in some ways even more brazen than selling patent medicine a century ago.
Havens’ Electro-Magnetic Liniment, manufactured and distributed by A. Ammerman of New York City. By 1905, the manufacturing company had changed to Haven Medical Co. @ 352 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. This bottle is from the early 20th C, cost 25c and contained 2oz. of a dark yellow fluid. It claims to cure a range of conditions. The medication could be applied for internal and external use. To reach a larger audience, the product was distributed via drug stores. One such store was the druggist and prescription pharmacist Walter S. Rockey, of New York with two stores in NY City. In 1904, Walter Rockey published an advertisement for Havens’ Electro-magnetic Liniment claiming it “is an indispensable medicine for the stable,” and that “it will positively cure scratches, thrush, sweeney, saddle galls, strains…” There is no evidence for the claimed properties of this mecidation. Walter Rockey was also a publisher of hollow earth theory and arrested for selling counterfeit medication.
Patent Medicine flourished in the second half of the 19th Century. Liniments, nostrums, elixirs, painkillers were sold with exagerated, unsubstatiated or outright fraudulent claims. Most liniments were used both externally or internally, contained volatile compounds, various oils, organic solvents like camphor, ether or alcohol for fast absorbtion and had some calming effect. There was no control over who could say what. Some of the liniments contained narcotics, at the time uncontrolled, including cocaine, morphine, or heroin. Addiction was rampant. Some medications lead to death, especially when children were treated for teething. In 1906 Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act that curbed excessive and unsubstantiated claims in advertisement and introduced measures for addictive substances. The Great Crimean Liniment was manufactured by J.F.Davis, Stickney Corner, ME. It claimed to treat ” rheumatism, inflammation of the bladder and kidney, cramps, colic, burns, bruises, neuralgia, and men and beast.”
Manufactured by the Pfeiffer Chemical Company, in New York, NY, was a mouth wash and spray that claimed to “allay inflammation, relive pain and soreness in the mouth and throat”. It was indicated in “sore throat, quinsy, ulcerated tonsils, canker, sore mouth, inflammation of the gums sore tongue, fever blisters and sore lips”. Established by Henry Pfeiffer as a pharmacy in Cedar Falls, IA at the end of the 19th century, the company first moved to St Louis, MO, where Henry and his brother Allen created the Pfeiffer Chemical Co. According to Fiske R. (The Bottle Book), brother Gustavus also joined the company. In 1907, the firm was merged with the W.R. Warner & Co. with the headquarters in New York City. It appears, this particular bottle was manufactured after 1907 because up to 1900 it was called the Allan-Pfeiffer Company with headquarters in St. Louis and only from 1907 in New York. The W.R. Warner & Co. later become The Warner-Lambert Co., today part of Pfeizer.
This liquid dentifrice was made by the Larkin Co. Ltd (a.k.a. Larkin Soap Company, LSP) from Buffalo, NY. The LSP was established by John D. Larkin in 1875. According to Richard Fike’s “The Bottle Book”, the company ” was very diversified and manufactured pottery, furniture, clothing, paint and even some food products”. The firm liquidated most of its holdings in 1942. The bottle in our collection was likely from 19010-1920. The glass was manufactured by the Greenburg Glass Company from Greensburg, PA (Fike R., The Bottle Book). This dentifrice contained 30% alcohol and was meant to preserve teeth, “invigorate the gums and sweetens the breath”. Dentifrice was a minor component among the cosmetic products the company produced.
Made by T. Humphreys & Sons of New York, NY, a major homeopathic medicine manufacturer in New York. Started in 1859, twenty years later his business was quite extensive with 35 product lines, all advertised in a dedicated book entitled Humphrey’s Homeopathic Mentor or Family Advisor. Symptoms and diseases were numbered: #1 was Fevers (heat, pain, congestion, inflammations). #2 medications was Worm Fever, Worm colic and voracious appetite. #3 medications were for Colic, Teething, crying and wakefulness, followed by #4 diarrhea, #5 dysentery, #6 cholera, #7 cough and under #8 was Toothache, Faceache, Neuralgia, Tic Douloureux (our sample). Just reading the categories of symptoms and conditions, one can see the lack of medical knowledge. Signs, symptoms, conditions are miscategorized, something only a quack would do.
At the end of the 19th century many drugs were sold as Patent Medications, the creation of individuals with some knowledge of chemistry, medicine, but most with a desire to make a quick buck. They made exorbitant claims without regard to truth. They sold anything the public wanted to buy. Many of such medications contained narcotics, led to addiction and even death. Congress intervened in 1906 setting up what later became the FDA. This patent medication was made by the W.A. Stallcup, Hugo, Oklahoma. It was recommended for “man or beast for relief of pain: rheumatic pains, headache, toothache, chilblains, tired aching, sweaty or frosted feet, neuralgia pains, pleuresy, sore throat, creup, colds, bruises, sprains, stiff joints, chiggers, bites and stings of poinsonous insects, barbed wire cuts on horses and other animals”.
Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, snake oil, elixirs, nostrums and Indian liniments hold a prominent position. NYU College of Dentistry has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. Electric Indian Liniment used both the term “electric” to denote something acting fast, and “Indian” to elude to the healing power of Native American Medicine. Many quack medications were linked to fraud, overdose, addiction or sometimes death. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act and reinforced it in 1938, to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive and dangerous substances.
This Patent Medicine was made by Ordway and Wadleigh, Lawrence, MA sometime at the end of the 19th century. It claimed to treat: “rheumatism, Tic Douloureux, neuralgia, cramps, spasmoidic affections, toothache, ague in the face, colic, cholera, diarrhoea, and all internal pains of the stomach, bowels, pain in the back, side, limbs, paralysis, contracted muscles, and lameness in general, burns, cuts, chillblains, cold feet, spinal affections, sprains, wounds, etc.” Notice the amazing range of conditions irrespective of its etiology, physical, traumatic, viral, bacterial or idiopathic. This is how one knows it could not be true. Patent Medicine was fraud by correspondence. Whether was sold by mail, drugstore or Medicine Show, it was too good to be true. Congress stepped in 1906 and started to regulate such unsubstatiated claims. One hundred years later, social media is still pushing medications claimed to cure currently untreatable conditions. We never learn.
Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a prominent position. NYU College of Dentistry (NYU Dental) has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. The Virtual Museum, when complete, will display about 100 of the most significant ones. Some contained opium, cocaine or morphine. Other’s claimed to contain snake oil. Many were linked to overdose, addiction and sometimes death. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive substances. The sample shown here was made by the Bro. Bailey’s Quaker Med. Co., Worchester, MA and claimed to treat rheumatism, nuralgia, headache, dizziness, toothache, earache, sprains, bruises, frosted feet, chilblains, cuts, burns, , scalds, sorethroat, catarrh (Inflammation) and pleurisy. Quite a list!
This patent medicine were the rage at the end of the 19th century. Many of them made fraudulent claims about curing virtually any ailment. They came in the form of liniments, elixirs, nostrums, or drops. They were sold in drugstores, via catalogues or on Medicine Shows. The current bottle, B.O.& G.C. Wilson Botanic Druggists stands for Benjamin Osgood Wilson and George Carlos Wilson, Boston-based entrepreneurs since 1846. Their partnership lasted at least until the 1930’s. This drug claimed to treat: “cholera cramps and spasmodics affections, colic, internal pains, sprains, bruses and burns, wounds, corns, chilblains, numbness, paralysis, rheumatism, spinal sections, hip complaints, ague, coughs, and colds, tic douleureus, tooth ache, white swettings”, quite a list with diverse etiologies and symptoms.
Patent Medicine flourished in the second half of the 19th Century. Liniments, nostrums, elixirs, painkillers were sold with exagerated, unsubstatiated or outright fraudulent claims. Most liniments were used both externally or internally, contained volatile compounds, various oils, organic solvents like camphor, ether or alcohol for fast absorbtion and had some calming effect. There was no control over who could say what. Some of the liniments contained narcotics, at the time uncontrolled, including cocaine, morphine, or heroin. Addiction was rampant. Some medications lead to death, especially when children were treated for teething. In 1906 Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act that curbed excessive and unsubstantiated claims in advertisement and introduced measures for addictive substances.
This late 19th Century medicine is part of a large collection of bottles of liniments, nostrums, syrups, balms and tooth drops peddled by unscrupulous druggists, adventurers, but mostly quacks. Unregulated, many of the medications had addictive and potent narcotis (cocaine, morphine, opium or heroin). Claims were exagerated, cure was promised from toothache to tuberculosis, to everything. Jadway’s Elixir for Infants contained morphine and was notorius for causing addiction, overdose and some infant death at the end of the 19th Century. Along with the infamous Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, Jadway’s was fined for exagerating claims and misrepresenting the truth in advertising. In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act of Congress put an end to the free-for-all unregulated patent-medicine market. It paved the way for the future agency known as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Why we care about these bottles? Because today prescription-opiates, eventhough are regulated, still caused an epidemic. We never learn.
This late 19th Century medicine is part of a large collection of bottles of liniments, nostrums, syrups, balms and tooth drops peddled by unscrupulous druggists, adventurers, but mostly quacks. Unregulated, many of the medications had addictive and potent narcotis (cocaine, morphine, opium or heroin). Claims were exagerated, cure was promised from toothache to tuberculosis, to everything. This bottle DeWitt’s Soothing Syrup is one example of “patent-medicine” . It was advertised first around 1899. The Chicago-based company advertised the syrup to be “an unfailing remedy for children during nursing and teething”. Due to its narcotic content, exagerated claims, Congress finally introduced the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, a precursor of the FDA.
This late 19th Century medicine is part of a large collection of bottles of liniments, nostrums, syrups, balms and tooth drops peddled by unscrupulous druggists, adventurers, but mostly quacks. Unregulated, many of the medications had addictive and potent narcotis (cocaine, morphine, opium or heroin). Claims were exagerated, cure was promised from toothache to tuberculosis, to everything. Rattlesnake Bill’ Liniment contained “genuine diamondback rattlesnake fat”. The company was fined for exagerating claims and misrepresenting the truth in advertising. In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act of Congress put an end to the free-for-all unregulated patent-medicine market. It paved the way for the future agency known as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a prominent position. NYU College of Dentistry (NYU Dental) has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. The Virtual Museum, when complete, will display about 100 of the most significant ones. Some contained opium, cocaine or morphine. Other’s claimed to contain snake oil. Many were linked to overdose, addiction and sometimes death. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive substances. The sample shown here was made by the Bro. Bailey’s Quaker Med. Co., Worchester, MA and claimed to treat rheumatism, nuralgia, headache, dizziness, toothache, earache, sprains, bruises, frosted feet, chilblains, cuts, burns, , scalds, sorethroat, catarrh (Inflammation) and pleurisy. Quite a list!
This patent medicine were the rage at the end of the 19th century. Many of them made fraudulent claims about curing virtually any ailment. They came in the form of liniments, elixirs, nostrums, or drops. They were sold in drugstores, via catalogues or on Medicine Shows. The current bottle, B.O.& G.C. Wilson Botanic Druggists stands for Benjamin Osgood Wilson and George Carlos Wilson, Boston-based entrepreneurs since 1846. Their partnership lasted at least until the 1930’s. This drug claimed to treat: “cholera cramps and spasmodics affections, colic, internal pains, sprains, bruses and burns, wounds, corns, chilblains, numbness, paralysis, rheumatism, spinal sections, hip complaints, ague, coughs, and colds, tic douleureus, tooth ache, white swettings”, quite a list with diverse etiologies and symptoms.
Patent Medicine flourished in the second half of the 19th Century. Liniments, nostrums, elixirs, painkillers were sold with exagerated, unsubstatiated or outright fraudulent claims. Most liniments were used both externally or internally, contained volatile compounds, various oils, organic solvents like camphor, ether or alcohol for fast absorbtion and had some calming effect. There was no control over who could say what. Some of the liniments contained narcotics, at the time uncontrolled, including cocaine, morphine, or heroin. Addiction was rampant. Some medications lead to death, especially when children were treated for teething. In 1906 Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act that curbed excessive and unsubstantiated claims in advertisement and introduced measures for addictive substances.
This late 19th Century medicine is part of a large collection of bottles of liniments, nostrums, syrups, balms and tooth drops peddled by unscrupulous druggists, adventurers, but mostly quacks. Unregulated, many of the medications had addictive and potent narcotis (cocaine, morphine, opium or heroin). Claims were exagerated, cure was promised from toothache to tuberculosis, to everything. Jadway’s Elixir for Infants contained morphine and was notorius for causing addiction, overdose and some infant death at the end of the 19th Century. Along with the infamous Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, Jadway’s was fined for exagerating claims and misrepresenting the truth in advertising. In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act of Congress put an end to the free-for-all unregulated patent-medicine market. It paved the way for the future agency known as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Why we care about these bottles? Because today prescription-opiates, eventhough are regulated, still caused an epidemic. We never learn.
This late 19th Century medicine is part of a large collection of bottles of liniments, nostrums, syrups, balms and tooth drops peddled by unscrupulous druggists, adventurers, but mostly quacks. Unregulated, many of the medications had addictive and potent narcotis (cocaine, morphine, opium or heroin). Claims were exagerated, cure was promised from toothache to tuberculosis, to everything. This bottle DeWitt’s Soothing Syrup is one example of “patent-medicine” . It was advertised first around 1899. The Chicago-based company advertised the syrup to be “an unfailing remedy for children during nursing and teething”. Due to its narcotic content, exagerated claims, Congress finally introduced the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act, a precursor of the FDA.
This a tooth extraction key fashionable from the early 18th to the middle of the 19th century. The hook at the end of the key was placed over the tooth and holding the cross handle the key was turned clockwise. It worked reasonably well in trained hands and primarily on lower molars. When appropriately handled it could remove a tooth in a relatively short motion. But because the tooth was not luxated (rocked from side-to-side) as it is customary, the tooth often broke or worse, came with a piece of the alveolar process. In 1841 the English surgeon John Tomes introduced customsized forceps for every tooth making the use of a toothkey too hazardous. That, along with the introduction of the general anesthesia (October 16, 1846) and local anesthesia at the end of the 19th century, and the concept of sterility, extractions no longer had to be a painful, traumatic and a risky undertaking.
This a tooth extraction key fashionable from the early 18th to the middle of the 19th century. The hook at the end of the key was placed over the tooth and holding the cross handle the key was turned clockwise. It worked reasonably well in trained hands and primarily on lower molars. When appropriately handled it could remove a tooth in a relatively short motion. But because the tooth was not luxated (rocked from side-to-side) as it is customary, the tooth often broke or worse, came with a piece of the alveolar process. In 1841 the English surgeon John Tomes introduced customsized forceps for every tooth making the use of a toothkey too hazardous. That, along with the introduction of the general anesthesia (October 16, 1846) and local anesthesia at the end of the 19th century, and the concept of sterility, extractions no longer had to be a painful, traumatic and a risky undertaking.
This a tooth extraction key fashionable from the early 18th to the middle of the 19th century. The hook at the end of the key was placed over the tooth and holding the cross handle the key was turned clockwise. It worked reasonably well in trained hands and primarily on lower molars. When appropriately handled it could remove a tooth in a relatively short motion. But because the tooth was not luxated (rocked from side-to-side) as it is customary, the tooth often broke or worse, came with a piece of the alveolar process. This key was developed by the French surgeon, Rene de Garengeot. The key bears his name, but that is not universally followed. Sometimes the French actually call it the English Key. The Garengeot Key became unfashionable after 1841 when the English surgeon John Tomes introduced customsized forceps for every tooth making the use of a toothkey too hazardous.
Garengeot Extraction Key 1800s
This is a tooth extraction key fashionable from circa 1760. It was one of the early versions. It was used up until the middle of the 19th century. The hook at the end of the key was placed over the tooth and holding the cross handle, the key was turned clockwise or counterclockwise dependent which tooth was pulled. It worked reasonably well in trained hands. When the roots were straight it could remove a tooth with a relatively short motion. But because the tooth was not luxated (rocked from side-to-side) as it is customary, the tooth often broke or worse, came with a piece of the alveolar (jaw) bone. In 1841 the English surgeon, John Tomes introduced customsized forceps for every tooth making the use of a toothkey obsolete. That, along with the introduction of the ether anesthesia (October 16, 1846) and local anesthesia (cocaine) at the end of the 19th century, and the concept of sterility, extractions no longer had to be a painful, traumatic and a risky undertaking.
The Pelican is an tooth-extraction instrument introduced by the French surgeon, Guy de Chauliac, in the mid 14th century. A pioneer in his own time, Chauliac was a professor of surgery at University of Montpellier. His textbooks were used for several hundred years, before surgery texts by Ambroise Pare (Paris) became dominant. The knob at the end can be turned to tighten the tongue of the pelican to fit the width of the tooth. The Pelican reappears in Pare’s book and is continuesly used for the next hundred years. In the 18th Century when professional dentistry takes off, the pelican is used with along a few other tools of extraction such as the ubiquous forceps, the toothkey (see other displays of toothkeys) and the elevator. These four instruments dominated extractions. However, the pelican disappears in the beginning of the 19th century replaced first by better toothkeys and later, in 1841 by customized forceps, introduced by John Tomes, a British surgeon.
Today, elevators are used to loosen the gum around teeth before a forceps can remove the tooth. The first rudimentary description of dental elevators comes from the 10th century Arab physician, Abu Al Qasim Al Zahrawi (Albucasis). They were modified over the centuries. One form that was particularly fashionable in the 18th and early 19th century was the toothkey (see several examples in our museum). Interestingly, during the 2500-year history of tooth extractions basically only four tools were employed: the forceps, the elevator, the tooth key and the pelican. The forceps and elevators, two of the oldest instrument are still in use today. The pelican was used for 500 years from Guy de Chauliac (1363) to early 19th century, while the tooth key for only about 100 years (mid 18 to mid 19th century). The elevator on display, similar to another example in our virtual collection, is from the second half of the 19th century.
Today, elevators are used to loosen the gum around teeth before a forceps can remove the tooth. The first rudimentary description of dental elevators comes from the 10th century Arab physician, Abu Al Qasim Al Zahrawi (Albucasis). They were modified over the centuries. One form that was particularly fashionable in the 18th and early 19th century were the toothkey (see several examples in our museum). Interestingly, during the 2500-year history of tooth extractions basically only four tools were employed: the forceps, the elevator, the tooth key and the pelican. The forceps and elevators, two of the oldest instrument are still in use today. The pelican was used for 500 years from Guy de Chauliac (1363) to early 19th century, while the tooth key for only about 100 years (mid 18 to mid 19th century). The elevator on display is from the second half of the 19th century.
Dental forceps were used to extract teeth for the past 2000 years. Straight forceps, similar to those used by blacksmiths, was the most common type. Even though they were available to use, skillfull toothdrawers in antiquity includsing Ancient Rome, China and Japan, actually preferred to loosen teeth with fingers and if needed, complete the extraction using forceps. Evidence from a Roman toothdrawer’s shop indicates skillful removal of teeth using fingers. We know that because none of the 86 teeth found in a drainage pipe under the shop were fractured. Arab and medieval barber-surgeons used forceps for extraction. Modern forceps were introduced in 1841 by John Tomes, the “Father of modern dental surgery” (1815-1895). Similar to the one shown here, Tomes designed anatomically accurate and specialized tools for extractions. The forceps for a molar tooth, rendered here, is from the second half of the 19th century. This lower tooth extraction forceps is likely from the late 1700s.
This is a hand-forged extraction forceps from the 17th century. Most forceps were one size and one shape up until the middle of the 19th century when John Tomes, British surgeon designed extraction forceps specific for every tooth. It was also the same time when understanbding infections (1860s) and sterility became a concern. The Scottish surgeon Lister, introduced antiseptic methods and Horace Wells (nitorus oxide) and William Morton (ether) introduced general anesthesia. Further, with the establishment of the first dental school in 1840, dentists started to be trained. As a result, tooth extraction became easier, more predictable and less traumatic.
This is an early hand-forged dental extraction forceps probably from the 1600s. Dental forceps were known since the antiquity. Greeks and Romans used them, although they prefered to soften up the alveolar bone first, rocked the tooth with two fingers before removing it either with a forceps or just two fingers. Archeological finding in a 1st Century C.E. Roman Forum “shop” of a collection of 96 extracted molar teeth show remarkable integrity for teeth with curved roots. No fractured roottips. It demonstrates a very skillful tooth-puller. Forceps were used by Islamic surgeons, by early European surgeons and after the appearance of the printing press (1450) all surgical texts included drawings of forceps. It is an instrument used for toothremoval for the past 2000 years. Forceps became more sophisticated in 1841 when the English surgeon John Tomes designed tooth-specific forceps. That, along with the discovery of general/local anesthesia and the concept of sterility, led to atraumatic toothextractions.
Dental forceps were used to extract teeth for the past 2000 years. Straight forceps, similar to those used by blacksmiths, was the most common type. Even though they were available to use, skillfull toothdrawers in antiquity includsing Ancient Rome, China and Japan, actually preferred to loosen teeth with fingers and if needed, complete the extraction using forceps. Evidence from a Roman toothdrawer’s shop indicates skillful removal of teeth using fingers. We know that because none of the 86 teeth found in a drainage pipe under the shop were fractured. Arab and medieval barber-surgeons used forceps for extraction. Modern forceps were introduced in 1841 by John Tomes, the “Father of modern dental surgery” (1815-1895). Similar to the one shown here, Tomes designed anatomically accurate and specialized tools for extractions. The forceps for a molar tooth, rendered here, is from the second half of the 19th century. This lower tooth extraction forceps is likely from the late 1700s.
Dental forceps were used to extract teeth for the past 2000 years. Straight forceps, similar to those used by blacksmiths, was the most common type. Even though they were available to use, skillfull toothdrawers in antiquity includsing Ancient Rome, China and Japan, actually preferred to loosen teeth with fingers and if needed, complete the extraction using forceps. Evidence from a Roman toothdrawer’s shop indicates skillful removal of teeth using fingers. We know that because none of the 86 teeth found in a drainage pipe under the shop were fractured. Arab and medieval barber-surgeons used forceps for extraction. The modern forceps was introduced in 1841 by John Tomes, the “Father of modern dental surgery” (1815-1895). Similar to the one shown here, Tomes designed anatomically accurate and specialized tools for extractions. The forceps for a molar tooth, rendered here, is from the second half of the 19th century. It was originally designed by James Snell in 1831.
Although, a precursor of the modern syringe was known since Ancient Egypt and used for tissue irrigation, the syringe as a pressing device behind the principle of hydraulic lifting in a confined space (Pascal’s Law) was invented by the French polymath, Blaise Pascal in 1650. The modern (stiletto) syringe using Pascal’s Law was invented in 1827 by A. von Neuner, chief physician of Darmstadt, Germany. This was perfected by the Luer German instrument maker that became the dominant force in the 19th c. market. In 1906, Guido Fischer, a German dentist created a new design, the “Fischer syringe” with a better seal. The “cartridge” syringe we use today was developed by Harvey Samuel Cook, an army surgeon, in 1917. The syringe in our museum is for either irrigation or for delivery of a fluid or creamy substance. The curved pointed tip indicates a use to access a small cavity, like a tooth or pulp chamber. It was most likely used by a dentist. Made of bras, it is most likely from the mid 19th century.
This syringe is approximately 2.5 inch long, made of steel and was likely used in a dental office for irrigation of the dental cavity during dental filling or delivery of some medication for precise delivery. Irrigators were necessary in the absence of running water or suction or compressed air features used today. The water syringe attached to a dental unit was patented only in 1884. This syringe is likely from around 1870-1880.
Codman & Shurtleff of Boston, was a medical and dental instrument supplier between 1851 and 1900. After Codman died in 1894, Shurtleff took over the company, but by 1900 he is in receivership. The syringe on display was most likely made around 1880. This syringe is 2.5 inch long and was likely used in a dental office for irrigation of the dental cavity during dental filling. The need for irrigators was necessary because there was no running water, suction or compressed air, what we use today. The water syringe attached to a dental unit was patented only in 1884. The syringe in our collection is likely from prior to that date.
Although, a precursor of the modern syringe was known since Ancient Egypt and used for tissue irrigation, the syringe as a pressing device behind the principle of hydraulic lifting in a confined space (Pascal’s Law) was invented by the French polymath, Blaise Pascal in 1650. The modern (stiletto) syringe using Pascal’s Law was invented in 1827 by A. von Neuner, chief physician of Darmstadt, Germany. This was perfected by the Luer German instrument maker that became the dominant force in the 19th c. market. In 1906, Guido Fischer, a German dentist created a new design, the “Fischer syringe” with a better seal. The “cartridge” syringe (shown here) we use today was developed by Harvey Samuel Cook, an army surgeon, in 1917. This early cartridge holding local anesthesia syringe is from c. 1925.
Although, a precursor of the modern syringe was known since Ancient Egypt and used for tissue irrigation, the syringe as a pressing device behind the principle of hydraulic lifting in a confined space (Pascal’s Law) was invented by the French polymath, Blaise Pascal in 1650. The modern (stiletto) syringe using Pascal’s Law was invented in 1827 by A. von Neuner, chief physician of Darmstadt, Germany. This was perfected by the Luer German instrument maker that became the dominant force in the 19th c. market. In 1906, Guido Fischer, a German dentist created a new design, the “Fischer syringe” with a better seal. The “cartridge” syringe (shown here) we use today was developed by Harvey Samuel Cook, an army surgeon, in 1917. This early cartridge holding local anesthesia syringe, similar to an Exacta syringe in our collection is from c. 1925.
Although, a precursor of the modern syringe was known since Ancient Egypt and used for tissue irrigation, the syringe as a pressing device behind the principle of hydraulic lifting in a confined space (Pascal’s Law) was invented by the French polymath, Blaise Pascal in 1650. The modern (stiletto) syringe using Pascal’s Law was invented in 1827 by A. von Neuner, chief physician of Darmstadt, Germany. This was perfected by the Luer German instrument maker that became the dominant force in the 19th c. market. In 1906, Guido Fischer, a German dentist created a new design, the “Fischer syringe” with a better seal. The “cartridge” syringe shown here and in two other displays, are similar to the ones we use today. It was developed by Harvey Samuel Cook, an army surgeon, in 1917. This early cartridge holding local anesthesia syringe is from c. 1930
Before premeasured carpules for local anesthetics were invented, powdered Novocaine was dissolved in a cup (see our posted model on this site). Using “sterile” saline and aspirated into a Fischer type syringe, Novocaine was injected. There was a considerable chance of injecting a non-sterile anesthetic. The cup could easily turn over and get contaminated. Gloves were not used by dentists. Handling with unsterile hands added to the possibility of contamination. Novocaine and gloves were invented in the same year, 1905. Eventually the injectable cartridge was introduced in 1917 after the invention of Harvey S Cook. Over the years Novocaine was replaced by other, less allergenic anesthetics. The most successfull was Lidocaine, synthesized in 1940 and still used today. This Novocaine powder is most likely from 1925 and was manufactured by the H.A. Metz Laboratories in New York.
Before premeasured carpules for local anesthetics were invented, powdered Novocaine was dissolved in this cup using “sterile” saline and aspirated into a Fischer type syringe. There was a considerable chance of injecting non-sterile anesthetic. The cup could easily turn over and get contaminated. Gloves were not used by dentists. Handling with unsterile hands added to the possibility of contamination. Novocaine and gloves were invented in the same year, 1905. Eventually the injectable cartridge was introduced in 1917 after the invention of Harvey S Cook. Over the years Novocaine was replaced by other, less allergenic anesthetics. The most successfull was Lidocaine, synthesized in 1940 and still used today. This Novocaine measuring and dissolving cup is most likely from 1910-1915.
The first instruments for restoration of a carious lesion were sharp, cauterization tools described in the 9-10th c. Arab literature. Medieval dental instruments were surgical, perhaps because their authors were primarily surgeons. Guy de Chauliac, a French surgeon described for the first time the dental mirror (speculum oris). Modern mirror with silver covered glass was invented only in 1835 by Justus von Liebig. The dental probe appears in the work of the French surgeon Garengeot, who in 1727 published his book on surgical instruments. In the absence of a reliable drill to remove soft dentin, in 1841 Pierre Joachim Lefoulon, a French dentist described excavators (curette) and hand drills for removal of caries. He recommended tin, gold or platinum sheets packed into the cavity using pluggers. The instrument displayed here is most likely a 19th century excavator. The ivory decorated handle was typical. Dentists owend only one set , rarely cleaned after each patient and until 1890s, never sterilized.
The first instruments for restoration of a carious lesion were sharp, cauterization tools described in the 9-10th c. Arab literature. Medieval dental instruments were surgical, perhaps because their authors were primarily surgeons. Guy de Chauliac, a French surgeon described for the first time the dental mirror (speculum oris). Modern mirror with silver covered glass was invented only in 1835 by Justus von Liebig. The dental probe appears in the work of the French surgeon Garengeot, who in 1727 published his book on surgical instruments. In the absence of a reliable drill to remove soft dentin, in 1841 Pierre Joachim Lefoulon, a French dentist described excavators (curette) and hand drills for removal of caries. He recommended tin, gold or platinum sheets packed into the cavity using pluggers. The instrument displayed here is most likely a 19th century carving tool. The ivory decorated handle was typical. Dentists owend only one set , rarely cleaned after each patient and until 1890s, never sterilized.
The first instruments for restoration of a carious lesion were sharp, cauterization tools described in the 9-10th c. Arab literature. Medieval dental instruments were surgical, perhaps because their authors were primarily surgeons. Guy de Chauliac, a French surgeon described for the first time the dental mirror (speculum oris). Modern mirror with silver covered glass was invented only in 1835 by Justus von Liebig. The dental probe appears in the work of the French surgeon Garengeot, who in 1727 published his book on surgical instruments. In the absence of a reliable drill to remove soft dentin, in 1841 Pierre Joachim Lefoulon, a French dentist described excavators (curette) and hand drills for removal of caries. He recommended tin, gold or platinum sheets packed into the cavity using pluggers. The instrument displayed here is most likely a 19th century large plugger. The ivory decorated handle was typical. Dentists owend only one set , rarely cleaned after each patient and until 1890s, never sterilized.
Today, elevators are used to loosen the gum around teeth before a forceps can remove the tooth. The first rudimentary description of dental elevators comes from the 10th century Arab physician, Abu Al Qasim Al Zahrawi (Albucasis). They were modified over the centuries. One form that was particularly fashionable in the 18th and early 19th century was the toothkey (see several examples in our museum). Interestingly, during the 2500-year history of tooth extractions basically only four tools were employed: the forceps, the elevator, the tooth key and the pelican. The forceps and elevators, two of the oldest instrument are still in use today. The pelican was used for 500 years from Guy de Chauliac (1363) to early 19th century, while the tooth key for only about 100 years (mid 18 to mid 19th century). The elevator on display, is from the second half of the 19th century and was known as George’s elevator (Coleman’s Manual of Dental Surgery and Pathology, 1882, p. 295).
The first instruments for tartar (calculus) removal appear described in the 9-10th c. Arab literature. Albucasis (al-Zahrāwī, Abū ʻl-Qāsim) understood the relationship of calculus and periodontitis (gum disease). He developed a set of scalers for removal of calculus and used silver wire to ligate loose teeth to each other to stabilize them. Fauchard, Pierre, the Father of Modern Dentistry, in the 2d edition of Le Chirurgien Dentiste, his famous work, establishes that the cause of gingival inflammation is neglect and local accumulation of calculus. For to treatment of periodontal inflammation vJohn Tomes in his 1859 book, A system of dental surgery, recommends a soft toothbrush, good oral hygiene and calculus removal. The instrument displayed here is most likely a 19th century tartar remover. The ivory decorated handle was typical. Dentists owend only one set and caried them from patient to patient if they did house calls. They rarely cleaned after each patient, and until the 1890s, never sterilized.
What would a wooden mallet do in a dental office? Unlike a lead mallet (also in our collection), a wooden mallet could be more gentle during tooth extraction when using a chisel. Yes, a chisel was used before the era of a high speed drills. Alternatively, a wooden mallet could be used by a dental lab technician. This small wooden mallet is likely from the second half of the 19th century.
Back in the 19th century when dental drills were nonexistent, if a tooth broke during extraction, the root fragments had to be chiseled out using a sharp instrument and a mallet. Bone was gradually chipped away to expose the root tip. This mallet has a wooden handle and a head made of lead. The procedure was quite traumatic, not to mention that local anesthesia was discovered only in the second part of the 19th century. Although cocaine was known to Amerigo Vespucci in the the 15th century, it was first isolated only in 1860 (Albert Niemann) and used as a topical anesthetic in ophthalmology only in 1884 (Carl Koller). Injectable local anesthetics like procaine were synthesized first only in 1905 (Einhorn). So beinging at the receiving end of a mallet like this was “fun”.
This device was used back in the middle of the 19th century as a way to open up the space between teeth during filling. The space generated was about 0.1-0.2 mm, sufficient for proper restoration. It applied a gentle pressure on crowded teeth and permitted placement of a large amalgam restoration facing the adjecant tooth. Once the restoration was finished, the device was removed and the tooth moved back into contact. It created a sense of pressure for the patient, but not pain. Such devices are no longer used in dentistry because amalgam is no longer used.
TBD
Ancient Greeks thought that the balance of four humours (blood, flegm, yello bile and black bile) account for a healthy body. If diseases striked, one had to rebalance the excessive (plethora) of the humours. The easiest was to let out some blood from the veigns, hence the popular intervention - bloodletting. This knife with three blades was used most likely during the American Civil War period (1861-1864). Sadly the method did not improve health and led to premature death, including that of our first president, George Washington. He had a sore throat and his physicians bled him over two days, the “state-of-the-art” treatment for the late 18 century.
This is a bloodletting tool from the period of the American Civil War. Ancient Greeks thought that health is derived from the balance of four humours (blood, flegm, yello bile and black bile). If the humours were out of balance one needed to “rebalance” them. Black bile was associated with the spleen, yellow bile with the gall bladder, flegm with the brain and blood with the heart. The easiest to rebalance was blood. One simply had to nick a vein, let out some blood and balance restored. This brass knife was used during the Civil War. Only 70 some years prior to that, George Washington was bled to death for a sore throat. It was the state-of-the-art medicine for the late 18th century.
This device was meant as a tongue depressor during dental treatment for certain patients. As shown, it is upside down. It consists of two components: the flat, slightly bent metal tongue was placed on top of the tongue, while the semicircular arch with the half rings was placed on top of the upper arch of teeth. Once in place, the screw allowed to open the mouth gradually pushing the tongue down. This device was used for individuals who could not keep their mouth open for a long time or had no control over their tongue movement. Such a device is no longer used in dentistry.
Oral hygiene was not a priority before the end of the 19th century. In 1815 Levi Spear Parmly, an American dentist and “father of oral hygiene” advocated cleaning the interdental spaces using waxed silk threads. Parmly came from a successful family of dentists. In his 1818 book, A Practical Guide to the Management of the Teeth, he suggested the need to brush, use a dentifrice polisher and a “waxed silken thread …placed .. through the interstices of the teeth, between their necks and the arches of the gums to dislodge that irritating matter which no brush can remove.”
Dental “floss silk” became mass marketed first by the S.S. White Company of Philadelphia in 1866. The first patent for dental floss was awarded in 1898 to the Johnson and Johnson Co. Initially dental floss was sold in small glass, paper or metal tubes/boxes. Dr. Charles C. Bass, a medical doctor, in the early 1940s introduced the nylon dental floss to replace silk, a more economical solution. This J&J floss is likely from the early 1900s.
Oral hygiene was not a priority before the end of the 19th century. In 1815 Levi Spear Parmly, an American dentist and “father of oral hygiene” advocated cleaning the interdental spaces using waxed silk threads. Parmly came from a successful family of dentists. In his 1818 book, A Practical Guide to the Management of the Teeth, he suggested the need to brush, use a dentifrice polisher and a “waxed silken thread …placed .. through the interstices of the teeth, between their necks and the arches of the gums to dislodge that irritating matter which no brush can remove.”
Dental “floss silk” became mass marketed first by the S.S. White Company of Philadelphia in 1866. The first patent for dental floss was awarded in 1898 to the Johnson and Johnson Co. Initially dental floss was sold in small glass, paper or metal tubes/boxes. Dr. Charles C. Bass, a medical doctor, in the early 1940s introduced the nylon dental floss to replace silk, a more economical solution. This J&J floss is likely from the early 1900s.
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Toothbrush in its current form evolved over centuries. The earliest toothbrush was the miswak, a twig taken from the arak tree, chewed at one end, yielded a brush like structure. It spread from the North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula to the Middle East and South America. The modern tooth brush appeared around the end of the 15th Century, but it was a luxury. Its mass production tootk off in the late 18th Century. Initially it was made of a bone handle and fitted with wild-boar hair. In the early 20th Century when nylon was introduced, DuPont started to manufacture plastic toothbrushes (1938). The sample we have in our collection has animal hare and a bone handle.
This patent medicine were the rage at the end of the 19th century. Many of them made fraudulent claims about curing virtually any ailment. They came in the form of liniments, elixirs, nostrums, or drops. They were sold in drugstores, via catalogues or on Medicine Shows. The current bottle, B.O.& G.C. Wilson Botanic Druggists stands for Benjamin Osgood Wilson and George Carlos Wilson, Boston-based entrepreneurs since 1846. Their partnership lasted at least until the 1930’s. This drug claimed to treat: “cholera cramps and spasmodics affections, colic, internal pains, sprains, bruses and burns, wounds, corns, chilblains, numbness, paralysis, rheumatism, spinal sections, hip complaints, ague, coughs, and colds, tic douleureus, tooth ache, white swettings”, quite a list with diverse etiologies and symptoms.
Patent Medicine flourished in the second half of the 19th Century. Liniments, nostrums, elixirs, painkillers were sold with exagerated, unsubstatiated or outright fraudulent claims. Most liniments were used both externally or internally, contained volatile compounds, various oils, organic solvents like camphor, ether or alcohol for fast absorbtion and had some calming effect. There was no control over who could say what. Some of the liniments contained narcotics, at the time uncontrolled, including cocaine, morphine, or heroin. Addiction was rampant. Some medications lead to death, especially when children were treated for teething. In 1906 Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act that curbed excessive and unsubstantiated claims in advertisement and introduced measures for addictive substances.
Patent Medicine flourished in the second half of the 19th Century. Liniments, nostrums, elixirs, painkillers were sold with exagerated, unsubstatiated or outright fraudulent claims. Most liniments were used both externally or internally, contained volatile compounds, various oils, organic solvents like camphor, ether or alcohol for fast absorbtion and had some calming effect. There was no control over who could say what. Some of the liniments contained narcotics, at the time uncontrolled, including cocaine, morphine, or heroin. Addiction was rampant. Some medications lead to death, especially when children were treated for teething. In 1906 Congress enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act that curbed excessive and unsubstantiated claims in advertisement and introduced measures for addictive substances. The Great Crimean Liniment was manufactured by J.F.Davis, Stickney Corner, ME. It claimed to treat ” rheumatism, inflammation of the bladder and kidney, cramps, colic, burns, bruises, neuralgia, and men and beast.”
During the 17 and 18th century it was fashionable to own elegant, jewlery-like grooming devices. A toothpick, and earpick a nailpick were commonly associated as part of a grooming set. Here is a silver toothpick that has a retractable blade. The entire device is about 1.5 inches long when the blade is retracted and an additional 1 inch longer when deployed. This is a silver toothpick, but more elaborate ornaments, precious stones goldplated silver were common. Sometimes the set was placed in an elegant silver holder (see other samples in this collection). Dentistry was quite primitive in the 18 and 19th century. Having such devices handy was both a necessity and a sign of affluence.
During the 17 and 18th century it was fashionable to own elegant, jewlery-like grooming devices. A toothpick, and earpick a nailpick were commonly associated as part of a grooming set. Here is a silver toothpick that has a retractable blade. The entire device is about 1.5 inches long when the blade is retracted and an additional 1 inch longer when deployed. This is a silver toothpick, but more elaborate ornaments, precious stones goldplated silver were common. Sometimes the set was placed in an elegant silver holder (see other samples in this collection). Dentistry was quite primitive in the 18 and 19th century. Having such devices handy was both a necessity and a sign of affluence.
Toothpick was an important component of personal grooming sets, popular in the 18 -19 Century. They were part of a set of tools that included nail cleaner, a toothpick and an earpick, sometimes fashionably designed with precious stones or made of precious metal (silver or gold). This holder would have accomodated a small toothpick, sometimes with a retractable blade and an earpick with a small scoop like ending. The size of the holder is 2 inches long and is made of silver.
This is a toothpick holder from the late 18th century. Made of silver, it was a personal grooming device holder, containing most likely a tiny retractable silver or gold toothpick, an ear pick and a nail pick. The device was made highly decorative and was worn in a visible fashion. The toothpick may have ornamental carvings and a precious stone. It was a sign of wealth if one had such tools on display. Please also see two retractable gilded silver toothpicks in our collection.
This late 19th Century medicine is part of a large collection of bottles of liniments, nostrums, syrups, balms and tooth drops peddled by unscrupulous druggists, adventurers, but mostly quacks. Unregulated, many of the medications had addictive components and potent narcotis (cocaine, morphine, opium or heroin). Claims were exagerated, cure was promised from toothache to tuberculosis, to everything.
Tooth powder or dentifrice preceeded the toothpaste we know todat. They were sold directly by dentists and contained proprietary ingredients. Ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Indians, Greeks used tooth powder. Their formulation included abrasive powders such as crushed charcoal, bone, eggshell or salt. They were often combined with vinegar, wine or honey. In 1606 Peter van Forrest, a Dutch physician described six dentifrices that were recommended for bad breath (halitosis). Halitosine, the bottle in our collection, was claiming to do the same. This sample is probably from the late 19th century, probably before 189, when toothpaste in a collapsible tube was introduced.
Before toothpaste was invented, toothpowder and dentifrice was used as early as the Ancient Indian, Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks. They recommended wiping one’s teeth with abrasive materials with a cloth dipped in honey. Content of tooth powder varied over centuries. They included crushed bone, eggshelloyster shell, salt, chalk, pumice, soot vinegar, wine or honey.In 1606, Peter van Foreest, a Dutch physician described six dentifrices for maintenance of dental health that contained cinnamon and mint water (for taste and active ingredient), Arabic gum (for consistency), pulverized bone, pumice, or salt (as abrasive agents) and rose water or white wine (as solvents), much like current toothpaste. This displayed Cherry toothpaste was made by the John Gosnell & Co., London, England circa 1840-1850. In 1892 toothpaste was placed in collapsible tubes when a Connecticut dentist saw Parisian painters using it. Four years later, Colgate issued its first Ribbon Dental Cream.