Smile Revolution: In Eighteenth Century Paris

by Colin Jones

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 conduct dating back to Antiquity disapproved of the opening of the mouth to express feelings in most social situations. Open and unrestrained smiling was associated with the impolite lowerorders. In late eighteenth-century Paris, however, these age-old conventions changed, reflecting broader transformations in the way people expressed their feelings. This allowed the emergence of the modern smile par excellence: the open-mouthed smile which, while highlighting physical beauty and expressing individual identity, revealed white teeth. It was a transformation linked to changing patterns of politeness, new ideals of sensibility, shifts in styles of self-presentation - and, notleast, the emergence of scientific dentistry. These changes seemed to usher in a revolution, a revolution in smiling. Yet if the French revolutionaries initially went about their business with a smile on their faces, the Reign of Terror soon wiped it off. Only in the twentieth century would the white-tooth smilere-emerge as an accepted model of self-presentation. In this entertaining, absorbing, and highly original work of cultural history, Colin Jones ranges from the history of art, literature, and culture to the history of science, medicine, and dentistry, to tell a unique and untold story about a facial expression at the heart of western civilization.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Art, France, European History

246 pages, ebook

First published August 18, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Emmkay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating content. We tend to think of smiling as just part of the ahistorical human repertoire of expression, but Colin Jones shows that it has a history of its own in this very interesting account. Focusing on eighteenth century France, he traces a shift in how smiling was regarded and depicted culturally, tying it to other momentous politico-cultural shifts at the time. The unsmiling aristocratic visage (in which smiles are mostly only ever 'disdainful') was overtaken culturally by a more bourgeois emphasis on smiling as evidence of a pleasing sensibility and lack of artifice. While the Revolution initially was associated with smiling and joyfulness, Robespierre et al ushered in a new dourness, in which smiling was again regarded with suspicion.

Jones also traces the related history of dentistry and dentures in the same era. The teeth of the Ancien Regime were frequently lost at an early age, and tooth-pullers combined their trade with showmanship (wild animals! fancy costumes!). Even the King faced dental horrors, including an accidental removal of part of his jaw, leading to a nasty infection. In Enlightenment France, however, the profession of the 'dentiste' emerged, along with other new-fangled things like toothbrushes. In terms of dentures, there was a move from previously unsatisfactory and sometimes stinky or malfunctioning offerings made from things like hippopotamus jawbone mounted on springs towards modern pearly white porcelain dentures. These developments enabled more Parisians to sport the open-mouthed, sincere smile coming into cultural favour. After the Revolution, however, dentists were excluded from the professionalization extended to physicians and surgeons, and global dental supremacy passed to the US.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book though I must be honest and say I did skim some of eight years ago - sorry dentistry isn't my thing - but then there is so much more to this book. It is one of fascinating examinations of pre-revolutionary French society and culture and reveals so much about the roots of the 'smile' phenomena which so many might think is post a post WWII creation.

Highly recommended for a brief read, if not thorough one.

[Emilija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book, well written, well researched and mostly easy to read despite being an academic book, following the history of the smile and dentistry in Paris from the reign of Louis XIV through Napoleon.
It was really interesting, but for much of the book, it diverged into the history of dentistry, which was treated separately at the beginning of the book to the history of the smile.

[Carolyn Fitzpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book struck a good balance between an entertaining tone and solid research, but I thought it was going to be a book about art judging from the cover. Art is mentioned in the book, but the emphasis is on dental history. When people's teeth were falling out, particularly in the nobility, a tight lipped smile was popular. When dental hygiene improved, smile became bigger. There is a lot of cultural stuff in here too about open mouths being considered a sign of a lustful and uncouth nature, but that is discussed less than famous dentists, and dental surgeries, and the invention of the toothbrush.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colin Jones is a British Historian of France and with this book he concentrates on the smile (suprise ;) ) in the French culture and how it was received by the different personal groups and which role it had in paintings and plays. He also shows the history of dentist and odontology in general.
It is a really interesting history and it helps that he includes a lot of paintings of this time. His writing style was sometimes a bit dry, but in general it is a really interesting book.

[Emily Pigott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptionally detailed book on the smile and teeth, based in Paris (little in London). If you want to know about this subject, then this book is definetely for you.

[Alyssa Puleo]

Very interesting way to follow a line of French industrial change and medical advancements through peoples teeth and bringing light to a wage gap too.

[Adrian]

Short volume on the history of the smile in French history. Author tracks the smile in painting, literature, society and politics. There is also a complementary history of dentistry and how it prospered or didn't based on the popularity of the smile. In the 18th century France was a leader in social sentiment and advances in dentistry. (Interesting fact: early dentists or tooth-pullers conducted business in the street and were showmen who produced a form of street theatre). The French Revolution set the country back in both fields and the smile wasn't seen again in politics until the late 20th century. Quirky history.