Martin van Butchell, 1735-1814 : the eccentric dentist of Mount Street / by J. Menzies Campbell.

  • John Menzies Campbell
Date:
[1952]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Martin van Butchell, 1735-1814 : the eccentric dentist of Mount Street / by J. Menzies Campbell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    —set off in a cutter for Richmond. There tney dined, but tarried unduly long; in consequence, on the return journey it was necessary to row against the tide. Van Butchell’s third son, Jacob, aged 22 years, having nautical experience, was considered the most competent to navigate the vessel. As a barge was moored at Putney Bridge a discussion arose as to how best it should be passed. In the prevailing uncertainty Jacob failed to turn the helm sufficiently quickly, and a violent collision resulted in the stoving-in of the side of the cutter. Most of the occupants were precipitated into the river: all but three were saved. Incidentally, it is interesting to learn that a funeral service for Isaac was held in Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street, London. Widespread sympathy was naturally aroused for the inconsolable parents and their family. In fact, it has been recorded that some time before the funeral procession left Mount Street a crowd of upwards of five hundred per¬ sons had congregated there. With the passage of time Martin Van Butchell’s mad eccentricities became even more pronounced; and his quaint advertisements continued to appear with unfailing regularity. Here is a typical one from The Morning Chronicle of January 1st, 1814: “God worketh in us to will and to do His good pleasure Fistulae we CURE when others can NOT FEES according to ABILITIES Sirs, be liberal to have health restor’d Those that have been CUT, much more than they like For Old Fistulae, Prolapsus-ani, Piles or Carbuncles; Will be made quite whole: new ones are Cured Often quite soon. All noble doubters shall have evidence ' Martin Van Butchell permanently Cures Fistulae, Strictures, Piles and Carbuncles, without i Confinement, Bruising or Cutting j Mount Street, in London, No. 56, ' very near Hyde Park.” Readers will note that, in this in- i stance, he refers to “We” instead of “I,” || thus confirming the view that, due to |c advancing years and diminished physi- g cal powers, he was then (and probably j had been for some years) assisted by a | son whom he had trained. : So much mystery surrounded the date I of his decease that even the erudite t Dictionary of National Biography N erroneously entered it as 1812. Due t solely to certain advertisements in his e collection, the writer is able to state p definitely that Martin Van Butchell died t in 1814, aged 79 years. On November ii 5th he was interred, the Rev. E. Wil- ■ hams officiating, in St. George’s Church j burial ground in Bayswater Road—now I a garden belonging to the church. It is i strange that no obituary notice can be found in any of the newspapers in which he had advertised so extensively. With contemporary conditions ever I in the forefront, an effort will now be made to evaluate, without undue bias, the case of Martin Van Butchell. Foremost one must, in fairness, re¬ gard him merely as a facet of his times. Quackery and blatant advertising were then rife. There was an inherent fascina- : tion for the miraculous and a willingness , to be deluded. i There is no doubt whatsoever that, despite ability, Martin Van Butchell’s tactics were undoubtedly those of the : charlatan. Besides, in him, the figure of impudence was displayed superlatively in the grotesque. He rarely failed to hitch his wagon to the advertising star: and this yielded a rich competency. That he was a genius and an eccentric
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