Get your teeth into collecting

No, we’re not going to talk about philatelic perforation here, rather about a very special collection belonging to Henri Aronis, a former dentist who has created a website that presents his fascinating collection, already winning a string of open-class awards.

There’s something for everyone: posters, sundry stamps, stickers, and postcards... as long as it is related to the world of dentistry! To whet your appetite, there follow some interesting pieces from the collection!

But first, some basic information about dentistry. Dating back to more than 1000 years BC, traces of dental care already existed, administered by the Etruscans and Phoenicians. Long before that, in 2700 BC, came the first identified dentist in Egypt, going by the name of Hesy-Re. Techniques have changed over the centuries. Of course there were the tooth-pullers of the Middle Ages, but it was only really in the 17th and 18th cen- turies that technologies were discovered at the service of dental medicine.

Given that teeth are a problem that affect every social class, there are many advertisements encouraging good dental hygiene and thus the prevention of decay. Stamp collecting is a particularly popular and easy way to get the message across, and there are several philatelic items devoted to dentistry. Whether you want to promote a dentist or promote good dental hygiene, you will find many stamps, cancellations, pictorial cancellations, and maxicards on the subject.

In this article, we feature a sample of documents but if you are interested in the topic, please do visit our website www.timbreetdent.eu which is bursting with interesting dentistry-related items!

To discover the items related to dentistry on sale on Delcampe.

On the left-hand page

Postcard advertising a Doctor Lenief toothbrush. Postcard showing a tooth-puller (the priest).

On this page

France 1961, stamp bearing the effigy of dental surgeon Pierre Fauchard. Thailand, 1985, stamp issued to commemorate the International Congress of Dentistry. Germany 1987, stamp on the theme of orthodontics. Belgian postcard (Liège), tooth-puller.