Colin Jones, The Smile Revolution in Eighteenth Century Paris

Abstract

First edition. You could be forgiven for thinking that the smile has no history; it has always been the same. However, just as different cultures in our own day have different rules about smiling, so did different societies in the past. In fact, amazing as it might seem, it was only in late eighteenth century France that western civilization discovered the art of the smile. In the 'Old Regime of Teeth' which prevailed in western Europe until then, smiling was quite literally frowned upon. Individuals were fatalistic about tooth loss, and their open mouths would often have been visually repulsive. Rules of con. Cover; THE SMILE REVOLUTION IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY PARIS; Copyright; Dedication; Acknowledgements; Contents; List of Illustrations; Introduction; 1: The Old Regime of Teeth; Louis XIV's non-smile; Smiles under strict control; The power of royal example; 2: The Smile of Sensibility; Regency glimpses of the smile; 'Smiles on the mouth and tears in the eyes'; Visualizing the smile of sensibility; 3: Cometh the Dentist; The Pont-Neuf tooth-pulling carnival; A tale of two dentists; Enlightened Parisian teeth; 4: The Making of a Revolution; Fauchard's heirs.