Emboldened by my recent coloured pencil drawings, I've had a go with Painless Parker, a real life dentist showman. With showgirls, cocaine and a horse drawn dental chair, he plied his trade throughout the USA in the late 1800s. Wearing his tooth necklace (357 pulled out all on one day), he would stand on the flatbed wagon, amidst dancing nurses and buglers. His clients would be offered a choice of whisky or cocaine before the extraction. In 1915, he changed his first name (Edgar) to 'Painless' to circumvent advertising laws. His bucket of teeth can still be seen at the Historical Dental Museum in Philadelphia www.atlasobscura.com/places/historical-dental-museum. There's just been one book written, now out of print, The early adventures of Painless Parker by Peter M. Pronych and Arden G. Chisten. It's out of print now but apparently Dr Christen, one of the authors, may still have some copies of the book . Dr. Christen via e-mail at achristen@iupui.edu.
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