Nose Operation

[George Haberberger]

At 07:55 AM 6/25/96 -0500, Brian D. McCary wrote:
>Andrew Dinn writes:
>"Apparently, the replacement noses often dropped off within a short
>space of time."
>
>
>Side question:  Could this have been the inspiration for Gogol's "The Nose?"
>I always thought that the loss of a nose was a very peculiar idea, but if
>happened to someone Gogol knew of heard of, it could certainly have 
>suggested the rest of the story.
>
>Brian McCary
>

I will probably never remember where I read it, but I do recall reading that
losing the tip of the nose was very common in fencing duels.

George