The cover of that “old tome” was leather. Human skin. The prestigious Harvard University has announced that it has removed the “particular” feature of a book that it has had in one of its libraries for over 90 years. Only in 2014 was it discovered that it was the skin of a dead woman. For nearly a century, the hallowed halls of Houghton Library, near Boston, Massachusetts, have had one book bound in human skin in the Ivy League's vast collection of 20 million books. Until the recent decision to intervene.
“A book about the human soul deserved to have a human cover”
The volume “Des destinées de l'âme” by Arsène Houssaye was published in 1879. Only later was it bound in human skin by the French doctor Ludovic Bouland and has been in the University's collection since 1934. The premise of the book is a reflection on the soul and life after death, and a handwritten note by Bouland included in the volume states that “a book about the human soul deserved to have a human cover”. The luminary had bound the book with skin taken “without consent” from the body of an unnamed patient who died in the French psychiatric hospital where she worked.
The removal of human skin from the book follows a review by Houghton Library, prompted by recommendations from the Harvard Steering Committee on Human Remains in University Museum Collections' Fall 2022 Report. The book has been in the Harvard Library collections since 1934, initially accepted into deposit by John B. Stetson, Jr. (1884-1952), American diplomat, businessman and Harvard alumnus (AB 1906); transferred from Widener Library to Houghton Library in 1944; and finally donated by Stetson's widow, Ruby F. Stetson to the Houghton Library in 1954.
The printed text of the book was given by the author, Arsène Houssaye, to his friend, Dr. Ludovic Bouland, in the early 1880s. A handwritten note by Bouland included in the volume states that “a book about the human soul deserved to have a human cover”. The note also describes the process used to treat the leather so that it could be used for that purpose.
The unknown patient died in a psychiatric hospital
We do not know exactly, nor will we ever know whose leather was used to bind the book. Evidence indicates that Bouland bound the book with leather, taken from a woman, that he had acquired when he was a medical student. A memo accompanying the book written by John Stetson, which has since been lost, told us that Bouland took this skin from the body of an unknown deceased patient in a French psychiatric hospital. In 2014, the library had the binding tested using a scientific process known as peptide mass fingering, which confirmed the human origin.
Harvard, considered the oldest university in the United States, has already spoken out about the case, capitalizing on the interest surrounding the morbid history surrounding the book. “The human remains will be given a respectful disposition that aims to restore dignity to the woman whose skin was used. The Library is now conducting further biographical and provenance research on the anonymous patient, the book and Bouland, as well as consulting the relevant authorities in France to help determine the best way to complete them. We expect this process to take months, and perhaps even longer, to complete,” the university's website reads.
What is the practice of binding books with human skin called
The practice of binding books in human skin, called anthropodermic bibliopegy, was documented as early as the 16th century. There are numerous accounts of the corpses of criminals being executed and then donated to science, with their skins later given to bookbinders. Simon Chaplin, who in 2014 was head of the Wellcome Library, which preserves books on the history of medicine, told the BBC at the time: “There are not a large number of these books in circulation, it has been a practice occasional done mainly to generate surprise, rather than for a practical reason. In general, it appears to have been done in the 19th century by physicians who had access to human bodies for dissection.”