Natural History of the Human Teeth

London: Printed for Thomas Cox, 1803. First Edition. Quarto (10 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches; 275 x 225 mm). viii, 100, [13, explanation of plates], [1, blank] pp. Presentation copy from the author on a slip tipped in at the head of the title-page, which reads "Mr. Pitt with best respects/from the Author." With thirteen copper-plates.

Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, rebacked with original spine neatly laid down. Spine with green calf spine label. Label lettered in gilt. Spine tooled in gilt. Calf ruled in blind. Newer endpapers. Some mild oxidation, mainly to title-page and first few leaves, as well as some mild foxing to a few plates, but mainly along edges. A small wormhole at the very edge of the lower margin, not affecting text. Overall a very good copy.

"Fox's classic treatise on the teeth is the first to include explicit directions for correcting dental irregularities. It is the first work on orthodontics"--Garrison-Morton 3679.

"In the spring of 1799 Fox began a course of lectures on the teeth to students at Guy's, and he continued as a lecturer there until his death. This was certainly the first series of lectures specifically on dentistry to be given in Britain, and probably in the world. On them he based his two books, The Natural History of the Human Teeth (1803) and The History and Treatment of the Diseases of the Teeth (1806), which were the first important dental works in English to have illustrations of operative dental procedures and of pathological dental conditions. Fox was also the first to give specific instructions for the correction of irregularities of the teeth. There were three English editions of his works, two American editions, and a French translation by Lemaire. These works were the first true textbooks on dentistry for students and practitioners, and for the next fifty years they were the most quoted ones in the English-speaking world." (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).

Garrison and Morton 3679. Norman Library 825.