Dental Hygiene Related Artifacts of the Late 19th / Early 20th Century

[UnderMiner]

Here is a collection of dental hygiene related artifacts I have excavated from three different locations all dating from 1890 at earliest to 1924 at latest, I dated these locations based on freely available municipal street-planning maps available from city archives as well as date-baring artifacts from the excavation sites (mostly newspapers and coins). All sites were under water/silt/mud and otherwise in extreemly anaerobic conditions (note preserved cork seal in tooth powder bottle).

These two artifacts were found in the same location and have the widest possible date range of 1896-1924 (based on all other date-baring artifacts found) but likely date to somewhere in between these two extremes:

The toothbrush is made of carved bone and is inscribed: 'AKIBA' and 'Warranted Perfect', it likely once sported boar (pig) bristles. The strange looking bottle found along side the toothbrush is 'Odol' brand tooth powder popular for its recognizable minty flavor and unique bottle design, it is made from milk-white glass.

The Listerated Tooth Powder and the Oriental Toothpast lid come from two closely related excavation sites dating at latest to 1913 and 1916 respectively.

If you have any information about the bone toothbrush such as what type of bone it is made from I would greatly appreciate it. These are not all my dental related artifacts but merely ones I can place within a somewhat ascertainable date range from the late 19th-early 20th century. I also have various later dated dental related artifacts such as dentures, gold/silver crowns, gold and silver bridges, dental tools, and even human teeth. I found all these artifacts in various places not just limited to amateur archaeology. If enough people seem interested in this I may try to put together the entire collection of these artifacts for a photo.

 

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[Florida Finder]

View attachment 2020849
Here is a collection of dental hygiene related artifacts I have excavated from three different locations all dating from 1890 at earliest to 1924 at latest, I dated these locations based on freely available municipal street-planning maps available from city archives as well as date-baring artifacts from the excavation sites (mostly newspapers and coins). All sites were under water/silt/mud and otherwise in extreemly anaerobic conditions (note preserved cork seal in tooth powder bottle).

These two artifacts were found in the same location and have the widest possible date range of 1896-1924 (based on all other date-baring artifacts found) but likely date to somewhere in between these two extremes:
View attachment 2020850
The toothbrush is made of carved bone and is inscribed: 'AKIBA' and 'Warranted Perfect', it likely once sported boar (pig) bristles. The strange looking bottle found along side the toothbrush is 'Odol' brand tooth powder popular for its recognizable minty flavor and unique bottle design, it is made from milk-white glass.
View attachment 2020851
The Listerated Tooth Powder and the Oriental Toothpast lid come from two closely related excavation sites dating at latest to 1913 and 1916 respectively.

If you have any information about the bone toothbrush such as what type of bone it is made from I would greatly appreciate it. These are not all my dental related artifacts but merely ones I can place within a somewhat ascertainable date range from the late 19th-early 20th century. I also have various later dated dental related artifacts such as dentures, gold/silver crowns, gold and silver bridges, dental tools, and even human teeth. I found all these artifacts in various places not just limited to amateur archaeology. If enough people seem interested in this I may try to put together the entire collection of these artifacts for a photo.

Awesome relics! The oriental tooth paste lid is handsomely designed!
Congratulations!

 

[Red-Coat]

... If you have any information about the bone toothbrush such as what type of bone it is made from I would greatly appreciate it.

Very cool collection!

When William Addis produced the first commercial toothbrush in London c.1780 he used handles carved from cattle thigh bones and bristles made from cow’s tails or horse hair. The rounded ends of the bones often went to button manufacturers. By 1840, similar toothbrushes were in mass production in England, France, Germany and Japan using the same kinds of traditional materials. Some manufacturers also used goat hair and, ultimately, pig hair proved to be more durable and effective in use. The better brushes used hair from Siberian wild boars and the ultimate luxury, if you could afford it, would have had a carved ivory handle with badger hair bristles.

I’ve never heard of “AKIBA” and it’s not listed in the International Toothbrush Collection database (linked below) but I assume this was a small Japanese brand/manufacturer operating via a Western agent.

https://toothbrushcollection.org/dropsearch.php

It would likely also have a cow thigh bone as the material for the handle unless it was a very expensive item using ivory. During WWI, animal bones were in higher demand for production of soup stock and manufacturers switched to synthetics such as moulded celluloid, followed by synthetic bristles. The first came from DuPont de Nemours, with the introduction of nylon bristles as “Dr. West’s Miracle-Tuft Toothbrush” in 1938.

 

[UnderMiner]

Very cool collection!

When William Addis produced the first commercial toothbrush in London c.1780 he used handles carved from cattle thigh bones and bristles made from cow’s tails or horse hair. The rounded ends of the bones often went to button manufacturers. By 1840, similar toothbrushes were in mass production in England, France, Germany and Japan using the same kinds of traditional materials. Some manufacturers also used goat hair and, ultimately, pig hair proved to be more durable and effective in use. The better brushes used hair from Siberian wild boars and the ultimate luxury, if you could afford it, would have had a carved ivory handle with badger hair bristles.

I’ve never heard of “AKIBA” and it’s not listed in the International Toothbrush Collection database (linked below) but I assume this was a small Japanese brand/manufacturer operating via a Western agent.

https://toothbrushcollection.org/dropsearch.php

It would likely also have a cow thigh bone as the material for the handle unless it was a very expensive item using ivory. During WWI, animal bones were in higher demand for production of soup stock and manufacturers switched to synthetics such as moulded celluloid, followed by synthetic bristles. The first came from DuPont de Nemours, with the introduction of nylon bristles as “Dr. West’s Miracle-Tuft Toothbrush” in 1938.

Wow great information! I never even thought to look for a tooth brush collection website like that, thank you!