We've all seen it in old movies and comics where someone with a toothache ties a kerchief onto their head wrapping their jaw. Not something you see these days. Has medicine progressed or have our egos stopped us from walking around like this? I'm going with improvements to dentistry.
Click on image to see it larger.
I haven't found anything definitive online explaining this procedure, but I'm guessing that it was done to perhaps hold ice in place over the painful tooth. Or maybe there was some sort of herbal home remedy that could help with the pain in the interim before getting to a dentist.
All of this does little to explain these two young ladies. Friends with toothaches at the same time? Is the guy a dentist they're flirting with? Is this an old vaudeville comedy routine? Sadly the back of the photo provides little more than mysterious text. The words most likely to solve this mystery are obliterated by the old album paper stock still stuck to the photo. A mystery wrapped in a kerchief.
Click on image to see it larger.
But lest you think I am straying too far from this weeks Sepia Saturday challenge about Louis Pasteur I give you the patron saint of dentistry, Pierre Fauchard. Another fascinating Frenchman to the rescue!
It is said that the 17th century French physician Pierre Fauchard started dentistry science as it is known today, and he has been named "the father of modern dentistry". Among many of his developments were the extensive use of dental prosthesis, the introduction of dental fillings as a treatment for dental caries and the statement that sugar derivative acids such as tartaric acid are responsible for dental decay. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)You just never know where Sepia Saturday and an old piece of paper might lead you.
Posts
What a very strange photo.....one can ponder it for ages.
ReplyDeleteThere were so many patients crowding the waiting room that these two had to wait their turn out on the sidewalk.
ReplyDeleteOh for a snapshot of that waiting room!
DeleteThere are some static photos that hang somewhere between the moments of action or reaction. This is a great one that looks like something has just happened or is about to. The man's nonchalant attitude adds a sinister quality to the mystery.
ReplyDelete"...uce ga.. for service Toothache not Climax."
ReplyDeleteYes, an extraordinary image the interpretation of which just gets worse when one tries to read the caption. Perhaps it would have been better not to include the back ;-)
It's the word "climax" isn't it? Makes one wonder.
DeleteYes, I think you're right ... haha.
DeleteOh to understand inside jokes! It's a great photograph to ponder.
ReplyDeletei think the handkerchiefs were definitely for ice cubes, although clove oil would certainly have worked better! this is a wonderful find!
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the tooth fairy?
ReplyDeleteHe does appear like he could be their dentist. Hopefully he's not a mad scientist!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know people actually did that; I only recall seeing it in comic strips. A very strange photo indeed.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was their idea of a Halloween costumes. They went to the party as two toothaches in search of a dentist.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. Quick costume easily found in a bedroom dresser...or in a back pocket.
DeleteI'm glad this photo led to the story of Pierre Fauchard. Now I know who to thank for all these fine fillings from childhood.
ReplyDeleteI remember comic postcards with people with their jaws bound up like this. Nothing funny if you are the one with toothache.
ReplyDeletehttp://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/documentStore/m/h/j/mhj06b00/Smhj06b00.pdf might explain...
ReplyDeleteApparently the "toothache not climax" was part of an advertizing campaign (for chewing tobacco?)
Indeed, that puts a more logical slant on it. Chewing tobacco called Climax, though I don't think I want to know why. You can see an old ad here:
Deletehttps://yesteryearsnews.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/the-sibilant-swish-of-a-spit/
Well, you've certainly found an amusing picture but I do empathize with those poor souls as the pain must have been excruciating... I suspect these kerchiefs were there to hold the lower jaw in place to avoid other teeth to knock on the affected one with an abscess, sending a jolt of pain.
ReplyDelete:D~
HUGZ
So that's one way of dealing with toothache in those days...? The girl on the right is tall. I'm gonna chat with a dentist aunt about Pierre Fauchard, for fun :)
ReplyDeleteI make out "toothache not climax" on the second photo. Interesting mystery there.
Hazel