The Gelbier Acquisition and Conservation Fund
Since the inception of the BDA Museum in 1935, the museum has relied on the generous donations from members and the general public.
The collection has grown thanks to the gifts, bequests and grants from external sources, both private and public. The museum continues to grow and evolve to reflect changes in dental practice. It is a valuable resource for all our users.
Donations are always very welcome.
Donations of all sizes help us to acquire, display and conserve objects for the inspiration and enjoyment of visitors of all ages.
To make a donation
There are a number of ways you can donate to us:
Online: Donate online here
Bank transfer: Sort code 60-40-02 | Account Number 31048994, Account Name: British Dental Association Trust Fund. Please use your name as reference.
Cheque: Please make your cheque payable to the 'BDA Trust Fund' and post to: BDA Museum, 64 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8YS.
By phone: For credit or debit card: Please call the BDA Library on 020 7563 4549 and say you'd like to make a donation.
Gift aid: If you are a UK taxpayer, please complete a BDA Trust Fund
Gift Aid declaration. This will enable the museum to maximise your donation and reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 you give - thank you.
About Professor Stanley Gelbier
The fund celebrates the contribution made by Professor Stanley Gelbier to the BDA Museum.
Professor Gelbier first became involved with the Museum in 1982 as Deputy Curator. Since then he has researched and written extensively on the history of dentistry.
He has secured the future of the museum and worked to make it more accessible to the wider dental profession and public. He has lectured widely and his contribution to dental history has been immense.
Thanks to your support...
Thanks to your support and generous donations, here are some items that we have recently been able to acquire for our collection:
Beautiful dental instrument set
This magnificent dental instrument set has undergone extensive conservation work funded by Arts Council England and the Gelbier Acquisition and Conservation Fund.
Made in 1860 by the American dental manufacturer S S White, it includes all the equipment a dentist needed to examine, scale, fill and extract teeth of his affluent patients.
This set showcases the quality of craftsmanship with the mother of pearl and gemstone and ivory handled instruments.
Rare Victorian painting of a tooth extraction
Donations of £2300 to the Gelbier acquisition and conservation fund helped the us to acquire and conserve this important Victorian oil painting by an unknown artist.
The scene depicts a gentleman reluctantly being held down for a tooth extraction in blacksmith’s forge.
This an evocative painting which compliments our growing art collection.
St Apollonia: a rare 15th century stained glass window
With your donations, we were able to purchase this significant and rare stained glass panel from the 15th century, which orginated from a church in Somerset.
St Apollonia is the patron saint of sufferers of toothache and praying to her in medieval times was believed to bring relief from toothache.
Many medieval churches contain depictions of her often on rood screens or stained glass windows. Over fifty representations have been found in British churches mainly in the West Country and East Anglia.
Conservation of Richard Theodore Stack painting
Thanks to the generous support of the BDA Northern Ireland Branch we are doing some conservation work to an ornate gilded frame of an important and impressive painting of Richard Theodore Stack.
Richard Theodore Stack was one of the founders of the Irish branch of the British Dental Association (BDA) and became the president of the BDA in 1897. He was also the first dentist to be elected an Honorary Member of the BDA in 1899.
Richard Stack was born in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, Republic of Ireland in 1849. He went to school at the Royal School. Raphoe, County Donegal before beginning his medical education in Trinity College Dublin in 1865.
Stack was a brilliant student and was awarded many scholarships and obtained his MD and MCh in 1875. He was attached to the Richmond Hospital in England and was a Demonstrator in Anatomy at the University Medical School. Following a serious illness, he became increasingly deaf and had to resign from his doctor's post.
He returned to Ireland and sought advice about his future career options, deciding on dentistry as a good option. He went to America to study at Harvard University and qualified with a DMD in 1877. He then returned home to Ireland, and practiced as a dentist in Dublin.
He played an important part in the establishment of the Dublin Dental School in 1879 and in 1884 he was appointed as the first Professor of Dentistry in Dublin Dental School.
His great contribution to dentistry and to the BDA culminated in his becoming our President in 1897. This painting will be on display in our London office and we are grateful it is now being restored to its full glory.
