HUNTER, JOHN. 1728-1793.


The Natural History of the Human Teeth: Explaining their Structure, Use, Formation, Growth & Diseases. WITH: A Practical Treatise on the Diseases of the Teeth Intended as a Supplement to the Natural History of Those Parts. London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1778. 2 works in 1 volume. 4to (248 x 197 mm). 16 engraved plates. Contemporary tree calf, spine gilt in 6 compartments. Top joint cracked through, scattered browning, Maggs Bros. receipt tipped onto rear paste-down.Provenance: Logan Clendening (bookplate). FIRST EDITION OF BOTH WORKS, bound together, with a cancel title page added to reprinted text of the 1771 edition of Natural History, as issued after the publication of the second work in 1778. Hunter was the first to study the teeth in a scientific manner, and the first to recommend complete removal of the pulp in filling them. "This classical work revolutionized the practice of dentistry, and provided a basis for later dental research. Hunter introduced the classes cuspids, bicuspids, molars and incisors; he also devised appliances for the correction of malocclusion. In part 2 of the above work he included instructions with regard to the operation of tooth transplantation" (Garrison-Morton). The first edition of the Natural History is rare, especially when bound with the Practical Treatise. Crowley 1521; Garrison-Morton 3675-3676; Norman 1116; Russell 433 and 434; Waller 10650; Wellcome III, p 317.