How Eccentric Dentist Martin Van Batchell Lived With His Wife's Mummy

Eccentric people really do make life brighter. Among them there are many outstanding artists, inventors and scientists. After all, it is simply not boring with such originals. But everything is good in moderation, because too unusual behavior already looks like madness. Let's take, for example, the 18th century dentist Martin van Batchell. This man clearly crossed the boundaries of what is acceptable. What else can you think of a man who did not want to bury his dead wife, but made her body an interior item?

Martin van Batchell was born in 1735 to a tapestry maker. His family was well off enough for Martin to choose his own profession. He wanted to become a doctor, and his family paid for him to study with the famous Scottish surgeon and anatomist John Hunter. Martin could have easily become a surgeon or an obstetrician, but he chose dentistry.

After completing his education, Van Batchell opened a dental practice in London, on Mount Street. The dentist did not skimp on advertising and literally flooded the capital with leaflets promising painless dental treatment and high-quality prosthetics. The doctor promised the best materials, which in those days meant that you would not be given some kind of nonsense, but real human teeth, pulled out of corpses.

Martin was doing well, and he set high prices for his services. He charged 2 guineas for a consultation alone, and a full set of false teeth cost as much as 80 guineas. This was 2-3 times more than his competitors. Nevertheless, thanks to his reputation as a professional and clever advertising, patients willingly made appointments with him. Moreover, the queue to see van Batchell was often filled in advance.

Over time, the dentist became so imbued with his own importance that he even began to neglect moneyed clients. It is known that he once refused to treat a patient's teeth at home, although he was promised an impressive sum of 1,000 guineas for the visit. Van Batchell simply did not go on call-outs as a matter of principle, like other doctors, and could afford to follow this rule under any circumstances.

In his office, Martin van Batchell did more than just treat teeth. Like many dentists of the time, he treated a variety of ailments, from hemorrhoids to abscesses. But his work did not end there. In his free time, the doctor was keen on invention. He created various devices that he then offered to patients or sold through newspaper ads.

Among the most notable inventions of Van Batchell are elastic garters for stockings, stirrups with non-slip cork inserts and a special bridle with curtains. These curtains allowed the horse to close its eyes if necessary. Incidentally, the dentist himself was a passionate horse rider, which explains his interest in horse accessories.

Over the years, Martin found it difficult to ride a regular horse, so he got a pony. This unusual rider was known throughout London. The dentist's snow-white beard fluttered in the wind as he sat proudly in a snow-white suit on his little horse. For greater effect, he painted the pony himself - sometimes adding purple spots, sometimes drawing black stripes, like a zebra. In his hands, he always held a tibia and a whip.

The doctor was always friendly and beamed at everyone he met. Many thought he was crazy, but that didn't affect his reputation. In the 18th century, dentists often turned into showmen to attract the attention of as many people as possible. Van Batchell behaved no less strangely at home.

Martin was married twice and raised two sons. However, instead of calling them by their names, he preferred to call them with a special whistle. The dentist made an unusual agreement with his wives: they could only wear one color of clothing - either white or black. The first wife chose white, and the second - black.

In 1775, the dentist became a widower. Martin van Batchell did not want to part with his wife and decided to preserve her body. He turned to anatomist William Hunter, the best embalmer in Britain. The specialist introduced special preservatives and dyes into the deceased's vessels, which gave the woman's face a natural shade and even a slight blush.

Glass prostheses were inserted into the body instead of eyes, and as a finishing touch, the mummy was dressed in a snow-white wedding dress. After that, the dentist placed his deceased wife in a glass box and installed it right in the living room of his home. Visitors to Martin could now see the perfectly preserved body of Mrs. van Batchell.

The reason why the dentist chose not to bury his wife but turned her into a mummy may not have been due to his eccentricity. It is believed that Martin and his wife had a prenuptial agreement, according to which he could use her property until she was buried.

There is also reason to believe that Van Batchell used the deceased for PR. They say that there were many people who wanted to look at the embalmed body, which looked like a living person. The doctor even posted a notice at the door of the house, in which he described the rules for visiting the strange "exhibition".

The doctor's wife's body remained in his living room until he remarried. His new wife was not thrilled with the presence of his "former" and insisted that the eccentric dentist dispose of the mummy. As a result, Mrs. Van Batchell's body was returned to Dr. Hunter, who was engaged in embalming. It was there, in his museum, that it found its final resting place.

The body remained in the museum until May 1941, when the building burned down during one of the German air raids on London. As for Martin van Batchell himself, he died in 1815. No one dared to repeat his embalming experiments, and the body of the eccentric dentist was buried in London's St. George's Fields Cemetery.

Was Martin van Batchell a genius of self-promotion or just an eccentric who broke all possible boundaries of the norm? Where do you think the line is between originality and madness? Share your opinion in the comments!