A.D. Black

History of Dentistry Collection

In 1896, Dr. G.V. Black and Dr. Theodore Menges purchased personal libraries of many different American dentists to establish a dental collection at Northwestern University Dental School. William H. Trueman, an avid collector of pre-1800 dental literature, donated his collection to the Dental School in 1925. Books, prints, and paintings by the French, English, Dutch, and Flemish were collected by Dr. William Bebb during two European visits in the early 1920s. A special effort was made to collect early works on anesthesia, a topic of particular interest to the founders.

The 1,390 rare books in the Black History of Dentistry Collection include: an 11th century illumination from a breviary of St. Apollonia's martyrdom; Pietro d'Argellata's "Cirugia Magistri" (Venice, 1499); the first book on dentistry, entitled "Arznebuch" (1594); three editions of Pierre Fauchard's (Father of Dentistry) book, "Surgeon Dentist," dated 1728, 1746, 1766 and an English translation in 1946; Practical Observations on the Human Teeth (1783) by the first dentist to practice in the United States, Dr. Robert Wooffendale; Dr. Joseph J.F. Lemaire's early collection of teeth carved from ivory; a letter from Dr. John Greenwood to Lt. General George Washington on his denture charges (1799); and contributed research papers, letters, data and some unpublished materials by the Father of Modern Dentistry, Dr. Greene Vardiman Black.