Episode 6: Teeth

Your Most Obedient & Humble Servant: A Women's History

Ellen Wayles Randolph (Coolidge) to Martha Jefferson Randolph, Richmond, April 25th 1819. In which a squad of Thomas Jefferson's granddaughters have a fashion emergency, gold teeth glitter attractively in the firelight, and a hot dentist does not quite make up for the horrors of early 19th century dentistry. Content warning: The second half of this episode contains a vivid description of having a tooth pulled without painkillers. HUGE thanks to my guest this week, public historian Brontë De Cárdenas. Learn more: The letter: http://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/1503 The letter describing a dentist as an "Apollo": http://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/2401 Nisbet, William. The clinical guide, or, a concise view of the leading facts, on the history, nature, and treatment, of such local diseases as form the object of surgery. To which is subjoined, a surgical pharmacopoia, divided into three parts: viz. Materia Medica, classification, and extemporaneous prescription: Intended As a memorandum-book for practitioners. The second edition. By William Nisbet, M. D. Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinone of the Surgeons of the Royal Infirmart, &c. Edinburgh: printed for James Watson No 40. South Bridge. Sold also by J. Johnson, No 73. St Paul's Church-Yard London, 1800. Eighteenth Century Collections Online (accessed March 11, 2020). http://find.gale.com/ecco/infomark.do?&source=gale&docLevel=FASCIMILE&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=viva_uva&tabID=T001&docId=CW3307238147&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0 Ellen Wayles Randolph Coolidge https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/ellen-wayles-randolph-coolidge Martha Jefferson Randolph https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/martha-jefferson-randolph