Harvard Removes Human Skin Binding from 19th Century Book Due to 'Ethical' Concerns

Harvard: In a statement published on its website, the Harvard University library said that it has removed the binding of a 19th-century book housed in the Houghton Library. The book in question, Des destinées de l’âme (Destinies of the Soul), has been confirmed to be bound in human skin by its first owner. The book, the statement notes, has been in Harvard's Houghton Library since 1934 when it was placed on deposit (later donated) by American diplomat John B Stetson Jr. 

‘Failed to meet ethical standards’

So if the book has been in Harvard's library since 1934, why has the university decided to take such a step now, nearly a century later? Well, to begin with, the rather grisly nature of the book's binding was only confirmed in 2014 by scientists. Even so, Harvard waited for around a decade before taking such a step. 

By its own admission, the Houghton Library's blog initially took a blasé approach to the revelation, noting that the discovery was “good news for fans of anthropodermic bibliopegy, bibliomaniacs and cannibals alike”.

In its recent statement, the university noted that it regretted the tone it took at the time and generally acknowledged ”past failures in its stewardship of the book that further objectified and compromised the dignity of the human being whose remains were used for its binding." 

Circling back to the question of ‘why now’, the Harvard statement notes that the decision to remove the binding follows a review process which led the Harvard Library and Harvard Museum Collections Return Committee to conclude that the “human remains used in the book’s binding no longer belong in the Harvard Library collections.”

The reason why has less to do with the fact that the binding is made of human skin and more to do with how said skin was acquired. The book, Des destinées de l’âme, was gifted by its author Arsène Houssaye to a French phsyican and bibliophile Dr Ludovic Bouland. It was Bouland who decided to bind the book in human skin. 

Bouland reportedly sourced the skin using less than reputable means, simply taking it from the unclaimed body of a deceased female patient in the hospital he was working in at the time. As Harvard noted, the skin was taken without the consent of the patient. As for why he decided to carry out such an act, a Harvard Library blog states that Bouland, according to a handwritten note inserted into the book, thought that “a book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering.” 

Thus, Harvard had decided to remove the human skin binding “due to the ethically fraught nature of the book’s origins and subsequent history.”

With the binding now removed, Harvard notes in its statement that it is in the process of consulting appropriate authorities at the University and in France to determine a “respectful disposition of these human remains.”

How common are books bound in human skin?

While the practice of binding books in human skin, referred to as anthropodermic bibliopegy, may seem shocking and bizarre when seen through the lens of modern sensibilities, there are at least a few confirmed examples of such books, indicating that the process was not entirely uncommon in the past. 

Up until May 2019, the Anthropodermic Book Project recorded at least 50 books that are alleged to be covered in human skin. Of this number, 31 were tested or in the process of being tested and 18 were confirmed as being bound in such a manner. 

In the case of Des destinées de l’âme, Harvard had the cover of the book tested in 2014 using a process known as peptide mass fingerprinting which confirmed that it was made out of human skin.

The same test carried out on another book in the Harvard collection, which was thought to be bound in the skin of a man who was flayed alive, revealed that the cover was made out of sheepskin.