A Brief History of the Smile by Angus Trumble, Basic Books, $26, £19.99, ISBN 0465087779 Reviewed by Laura Spinney
WHEN museum curator Angus Trumble was invited to give a lecture to a roomful of dentists and maxillofacial surgeons, he was mystified. What could he tell them? It turned out they were eager to know how definitions of beauty had evolved since the 18th century, because just like architects, cosmetic surgeons keep a golden mean in mind: in their case, the optimum distance between chin and lip. Trumble, who confesses to “small and somewhat discoloured” teeth, was thus launched on a…
