Martin van Butchell, kook dentist

British, 1735-1814.

"All the remarkable eccentricities which have yet been the characteristic of any man, however celebrated, may all hide their diminished heads before Martin Van Butchell."


"He humorously paints [his] poney, some times all purple, often with purple spots, and with streaks and circles upon his face and hinder parts...His bridle is also exceedingly curious; to the head of it is fixed a blind, which, in case of taking fright or starting, can be dropped over the horse's eyes, and be drawn up again at pleasure.

"After embalming [his wife's] body, he kept her in her wedding clothes a considerable time, in the parlour of his own house, which occasioned the visits of a great number of the nobility and gentry. It has been reported, that the resolution of his keeping his wife unburied, was occasioned by a clause in the marriage settlement, disposing of certain property, while she remained above ground: we cannot decide how far this may be true, but she has been since buried." -- The Lives and Portraits of Curious and Odd Characters: Compiled from Authentic Sources, T. Drew, 1852 via Google Book Search.

"Nevertheless, he was considered a good dentist for his time, and he was extremely popular with his patients."