Key Points
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Continues the description of the important historical record of Georgian dentistry found in the sketchbooks of J. M. W. Turner.
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Describes the technology found in a Georgian dentist's workroom.
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Suggests a model for Turner's drawings.
Abstract
Turner's painting of a dental surgeon's rooms, discussed in the first of these two papers,1 is a very satisfying work of art, successful in its relaying of a domestic drama, and also fulfilling Payne Knight's commission to produce a work to equal that of the older masters. It cannot, though, be relied upon to show us what a late Georgian dentist's rooms actually looked like. For this we are very fortunate to have Turner's sketchbook, with its preparatory drawings for the painting.
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Acknowledgements
The extensive help and advice of Michael Wright, formerly Curator, Mechanical Engineering at the Science Museum is most gratefully acknowledged, as is that of the staff of the Museum and of the Information centre of the British Dental Association, of the Tate Britain, of the Science Museum, the librarians of the Athenaeum, and of the private collectors who lent material.
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Bishop, M., Gelbier, S. & King, J. Science and technology in Turner's Georgian dentist's rooms. Br Dent J 198, 299–305 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4812128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4812128
