Painting of Pierre Fauchard by Le Bel

Fauchard's wife Elizabeth Guillemette Chemin (Propriété Flüry-Hérard)

The café Procope in the 18th century

Exterior of the Comédie Française in the 18th century

Exterior facade today: "Ancien hôtel des comédiens"

Pierre Jean Chemin dit Duchemin (Bibliothèque de la Comédie Française)

First page of contract

Contract with Pierre Nicolas Gaulard

by Dr. Jean-Christophe Loir and Dr. Florence Loir Translated from the original article in French; published by the Société Française d'Histoire de l'Art Dentaire in 2009, Actes 14 (SFHAD, French Society of History of Dentistry)

Much of Pierre Fauchard's early life is based on supposition. He was born somewhere in Brittany in the year 1678. The only information we on his youth comes from the forward of his book Le Chirurgien-Dentiste (published in 1728). His life crossed several reigns--the end of Louis XIV, the Regency, and the reign of Louis XV. This was the Century of Lights when France and especially Paris were highly influential and admired in all of Europe, and Fauchard encountered many literary, musical, artistic, and scientific figures. From other sources we know that in 1693 Pierre Fauchard became a student doctor in the French Navy, and from 1696 to 1718 Fauchard practiced in Angers, Tours, Rennes, and Nantes. In 1719 he went to Paris and moved in at 14 Rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain.

In 1728 Pierre Fauchard published the first edition of his book Le Chirurgien-Dentiste ou Traite des Dents, and the following year he married Elizabeth Guillemette Chemin, who was 38 years younger than him. Their first son, JeanBaptiste, was born June 5, 1737.

On April 1, 1738, Fauchard signed a contract of collaboration with Pierre Gaulard, who later would be executed for robbery on September 29, 1740. Fauchard's wife, Elizabeth, died in 1739. In 1741 Pierre Fauchard trained his only student, Laurant Tugdual Duchemin, and in 1746 he published the second edition of his book Le Chirurgien-Dentiste. In January 1747 he moved to "rue des Cordeliers" in a new house with a carriage entrance. He lived there and practiced as a surgeon and dentist. On June 5, 1747, he married Louise Rousselot, a young cousin of Elizabeth; they separated in 1751.

In 1746, on page 369 of volume 2 of the second edition of his book, Pierre Fauchard answers the concerns of those who saw him stop his practice at the age of 68 years; however, he continued to see patients with his brother-in-law. When he died in 1761, Pierre Fauchard was buried in Saint-Come Church, which was later destroyed, and his tomb disappeared into the asphalt of Boulevard Saint-Michel.

In the contracts we could examine, including the agreement with Gaulard and those of his marriages, one can find the name of the street where he lived, but not the number. In the papers of "Procés Gaulard" (Gaulard's lawsuit), we learn that Pierre Fauchard lived on the top of the "Comédie Française," therefore in number 14. Did he frequent the Comédians? Did he live at the Alliance Hotel? Jussieu referred patients to him; did they cross paths at Procope? A simple road along the trenches excavated at different places of the bases of the enclosure given to Paris by Phillipe Auguste, the street was designed in 1560 like the street or road that is on the ditches between St. Germain des Prés and Bussy.

The Saint-Germain Fair was close by, with its seasonal procession of festivals and games. At the end of the 17th century, this was a road with games of paume (similar to tennis) and boules (bocce) along with baths and cabarets. It would be called "Rue de la Comédie Française," which today is called "Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie" (the street of ancient comedy).

On rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain, a house featured the sign "du Soleil d'or ("of the golden sun") next to an old establishment of the baths with a sign proclaiming this way "To the Holy Shroud of Turin"; its frontage announced to those who passed by, "Here within, hair is properly groomed and in addition we have baths and saunas." The boutique had a ready-made clientele of jeux de paume players whose courts were located directly across from the baths. In 1686 François Procope transformed the bath establishment into a café. Procope was born in 1650 in Palermo or Florence in Italy and was probably a ruined gentleman, a peddler who later served the crowds of people around the Saint-Germain Fair. He rented a place and in 1675 was qualified as a merchant, a distiller, and a bar keeper, first on rue de Tournon and then on rue des Fossés-Saint Germain.

The café was decorated luxuriously for the era with furniture, mirrors, and sparkling chandeliers. A spirit merchant and apothecary, Procope worked a true laboratory. In the summer he served sorbets and refreshing beverages, and in the winter he served coffee, tea, and chocolate. Coffee taken as a beverage provoked some controversy, but with the addition of sugar and milk, it was increasingly accepted. Nicolas de Blegny, author of the book The Good Use of Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate, (Lyon, 1687), even recommended coffee for certain toothaches in his book Livre Commode ("useful book"), which contained addresses in Paris and which was published continuously during the 1690s. Procope had eight children and Alexander, the seventh son, succeeded his father in 1716. Coffee with milk became Parisians' breakfast (a cup sold for two pennies), and two newspapers--La Gazette and Le Mercure of France--were available for customers to read. In 1742, Rousseau visited the Procope, which attracted the curiosity of many people. At the time the café was at the top of its fame and the customers questioned the talent of la Clarion, the woman comedian from the theater across the street. The street there was alive with constant movement between Le Procope and La Comédie Française.

In 1673, La Troupe de Moliere (Moliere's troop) was driven out of the Royal Palace and forced to wander until 1686, at which time they moved to 14 rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain, in spite of opposition from the clergy, who would have preferred having no theater troupe at all in the neighborhood. The troupe bought the Jeu de Paume de l'Etoile hall and an adjoining house. The architect François d'Orbay built a theater, and thus the Royal Theater was born. On April 18, 1689, it was inaugurated with the presentation of the dramatic tragedy "Phedre" and the comedy "The Doctor in Spite of Himself" ("The Mock Doctor"). The rear and side sections of the theater were filled with neighbors from the Procope, which rented a place to sell drinks, and it seemed that it was going to be a very profitable situation. Unfortunately the theater moved eventually to the Tuileries in 1770.

Pierre Fauchard was close to the theater in many ways. His second wife, Elizabeth Guillemette Chemin, was the daughter of two actors. Her Father, Pierre Jean, was a member of the Comédie Française for 23 years. Her brother Pierre Jacques was a member of the troupe in 1726 at the age of 18 years. He married La Duclos, who was 38 years older and who had been a member of the troop since 1696. People often used the expression "dumb like La Duclos," but she was beautiful and smart enough to attract many men as protectors and to seduce a very young man. However, this was a very troubled marriage, and Pierre-Jacques left his wife and the Comédie Française in 1735 and became an actor in Munich. La Duclos moved in 1736 to rue de la Comédie into an apartment belonging to Procope.

Fauchard's son, Jean Baptiste, was a lawyer until 1771, at which time he went into exile to Brussels, became an actor, and married Adelaïde, an actress. He became known by the name "Grandmesnil" and was a member of the Comédie Française on February 21,1792. Fauchard looked after the actors and their families such as Pierre Jacques, his brother-in-law, and Marie-Anne Renoult, Duchemin's niece. He trained his brother-in-law, Laurent Tugducal Duchemin, in dentistry. In the paragraph "reflexion" of chapter XI (1746), he wrote, "I was persuaded that the public would be grateful to have a unique student who would be ready to face any challenge."

The number 14 rue de la Comédie Française originally had two distinct houses to the north of the hall for the le jeu de paume, which became the Comédie Française. The vault was an entryway to the theater. One can still see some of the remnants in the courtyard today. To the south can be found the Hotel Alliance, which could have been a hotel or cheap eating establishment of that time. A small part of the ground floor housed a wine merchant under Louis XIV. The rest of the building had three floors and an attic. This unit was sold in auction to the French Comedians in 1773. Michel Procope Couteau, son of François and brother of Alexander, was born in 1684 and livened up the café with his truculent language and his witty remarks. Ecclesiastic, then an outstanding medical student, was chosen by his peers at the age of 25 years to be the curator of their library. An exceptional doctor, he severely criticized his colleagues, finding them pedantic and guilty of using poor science. He called into question the practice of severe bleeding, harsh diets, and repeated purging. Procope Couteau left poems and plays, as well as scientific works, such as "l'analyse du système de trituration de Hecquet" (the analysis of the trituration system of Hecquet), which he thoroughly condemned. Pierre Fauchard knew him and referred to him in his book as a doctor "correspondent." This same Procope also criticized the paper that La Peyronne gave at the medical school entitled L'art de faire des garçons (The Art of Making Boys), where he cast serious doubt on the theory of spontaneous generation. He was brilliant and precursory but misunderstood by his peers. Fauchard himself was criticized for teaching the method of selection of experts in his preface. Procope even wrote satirical verse about his father-in-law, the dentist Carmeline. But did Fauchard write about the famous dentist Carmeline in his preface, or was it his nephew Quaranta? According to Besombes and Dagan (Pierre Fauchard et ses contemporains, 1961), Fauchard would not have known Carmeline or his nephew who, according to the Livre Commode, was living at "Quai de Megisseri" and practiced dentistry.

Collaboration Contract with Gaulard

The contract between Pierre Fauchard and Pierre Nicolas Gaulard appears in the National Archives. It is dated April 5, 1739, in the afternoon, in front of Master de Savigny, notary. Those present were Pierre Fauchard; his wife, Elizabeth; Pierre Nicolas Gaulard; his father, Pierre Gaulard expert; his second wife, Catherine de Pars; and a clerk who signed "Z Imonée." No mention is made of the title "expert" for Pierre Fauchard; they only say "dental surgeon." Terms in the contract resemble those we use today; for example, the integral transfer of all the sums acquired by the collaborator and the retrocession of fees equivalent to a quarter. In exchange, Pierre Fauchard promised to train his student, to feed and house him, and to have his laundry done. The contract was good for 5 years starting April 1, 1738. A contract negotiated in front of a notary could be predated. In case of the death of Pierre Fauchard, the contract would be renewed by his widow; therefore the retrocession to Pierre Nicolas Gaulard would go to one third of the money received by the former. The place where Pierre Nicolas Gaulard would work is not known. We can guess it would be a place at Pierre Fauchard's house where he was staying and also treating outpatients, as they were doing at the time. Fauchard would be able to associate with another collaborator with Gaulard's agreement. In the event of the failure of this contract, he would have to pay a sum of 3000 livres.

Among the signatures at the bottom of the contract is that of Elizabeth, who signed first "Elizabeth Fauchard." This signature was poorly erased and replaced by "Elizabeth Chemin." This contract would be suspended at Gaulard's execution.

Acknowledgments

The authors, Dr. Jean-Christophe Loir and Dr. Florence Loir, thank Drs. Jean Granat and Pierre Baron for their help, advice, and the visuals they provided.

Editor's note: We thank Joan Munzner for additional help with the English translation and Marcelle B. Charles for the translation work to English. Some additional historical information was added to clarify the life story of Pierre Fauchard when deemed necessary. We also thank SFHAD Secrétaire Général Dr. Micheline Ruel-Kellerman for permission to use the images and text. A special virtual exhibition about Pierre Fauchard, on the 250th anniversary of his death, is now available online at http://www. biusante.parisdescartes.fr/fauchard/

Bibliography

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