HUNTER John The natural history of the teeth: explaining their structure, use, formation, growth, and diseases. [suivi de :] A practical treatise on the diseases of the teeth (intended as a supplement).

Garrison-Morton, 3675-3676; Weinberger, p. 70; Wellcome III, 317; Norman, 1116; Poletti, p. 105 ; NLM, p.226 for the first part.

First edition of both texts by John Hunter that “revolutionized the practice of dentistry and provided a basis for later dental research” (Garrison-Morton).

Hunter was one of the greatest surgeons of the eighteenth century. Though not a dentist, he wrote several works that laid the foundation for much future dental research. His first major treatise was this meticulous study of the mouth, jaws, and teeth, which described with unparalleled accuracy the growth of the jaws and their relationship to the muscles of mastication. The work also did much to popularize the terms cuspids, bicuspids, molars, and incisors. The illustrations by the Dutch-born artist Jan van Riemsdyck are renowned both for their accuracy and for their beauty. The second volume contains the very rare Practical treatise… intended as a supplement.

“Hunter was the first to state the necessity of completely removing the diseased pulp to insure the success of a filling; he also gave a minute description of periodontal infections, and detailed his experiments with tooth transplantation” (Norman).

Spine to volume I restored, else fine copies. Bookplate of “Eli Cope, surgeon” on volume I ; signature of Anne Fitz-William, December 1778 on volume II.