Autograph Letter Signed to William Allen.

Bookseller Notes

A good and lengthy letter to Fox's greatest friend. Joseph Fox (1775-1816), dental surgeon and philanthropist, delivered at Guy's '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' (ODNB). Fox was in Canterbury recovering from an illness and proffers some religious reflections to his Quaker friend. He refers to Humphry Davy - a close friend of Allen's, but an acquaintance only of Fox's - who was also ill, Fox hoping that the experience would guide him towards religion. He then refers to his 'Lectures on the Teeth', it being his intention to resume them, and asking Allen to include them in the advertisements of the Spring course.