Bound In Human Skin

[Nebulous]

Houghton Library’s copy of Arsène Houssaye’s "Des destinées de l’ame" is "without a doubt bound in human skin."

Samples from the binding went through multiple tests before researchers concluded they were "99.9% confident that the binding is of human origin."

19th century French writer Houssaye's book is a collection of essays meditating on the soul and the after-life, according to Harvard.

As the story goes, Houssaye gave the book to his friend, Dr. Ludovic Bouland, who then had it rebound and left a manuscript note explaining why.

A translated excerpt follows:

“This book is bound in human skin parchment on which no ornament has been stamped to preserve its elegance. By looking carefully you easily distinguish the pores of the skin. A book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering: I had kept this piece of human skin taken from the back of a woman."

As The Atlantic reports, anthropodermic bibliopegy, or the practice of binding books in human skin, was "somewhat common" in the past.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/04/harvard-human-book_n_5448578.html

 

[DrLeftover]

Not only book binding:

If you have a lamp made in Germany during the years of World War Two, the shade may give you bad dreams. If you have a leather wallet or leather bound book from that era, you may want to bury it. The same is true of jewelry and some clothing, you may think twice about having them in your home.

In Germany during World War Two, leather and certain other raw material was scarce. The SS, under Heinrich Himmler found new uses for some of the 'goods' produced at some of their facilities. With the apparent blessing of the High Command, Himmler's Death's Head groups began exploiting those sent to their camps for industrial supplies. It was all the fruition of a mechanism that began operating years before.

http://themediadesk.com/newfiles2/holocaust.htm