20 Books that Have Been Bound in Human Skin — A Dark Tale of History and Horror
Exploring the Historical Significance and Cultural Context Behind the Practice of Anthropodermic Bibliopegy.
Throughout history, there have been a number of books that were bound in human skin, a practice known as anthropodermic bibliopegy. While it may sound like something out of a horror movie, this macabre practice was actually quite common in the past, particularly during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Here are twenty books that were bound in human skin:
1. Hymns to the Night by Novalis: This German book of poetry was bound in human skin in the 19th century. It is currently housed at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.
2. The Highwayman by Philpotts: This English book of poetry was bound in the skin of a man who was executed for murder. It is currently housed at the Gladstone Library in Wales.
3. De Humani Corporis Fabrica by Andreas Vesalius: This Latin medical text from the 16th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the National Library of Medicine in Maryland.
4. The Dance of Death by Hans Holbein: This 16th century book of woodcuts was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the British Library in London.
5. The Poetical Works of John Keats: This English book of poetry from the 19th century was bound in the skin of a hospital patient. It is currently housed at the Wellcome Library in London.
6. The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton: This English medical text from the 17th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
7. The Confession of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg: This Scottish novel from the 19th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.
8. The Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel: This 15th century German book of history was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the Bavarian State Library in Munich.
9. The Merry Tales of the Mad Men of Gotham by Francis Kirkman: This English book of humor from the 17th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the Boston Athenaeum.
10. Les Adventures du Dernier Abencerage by Chateaubriand: This French novel from the 19th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the Harvard University Library.
11. A True and Perfect Relation of the Whole Proceedings Against the Late Most Barbarous Traitors by Sir Everard Digby and Robert Winter: This English book from the 17th century was bound in the skin of one of the executed traitors. It is currently housed at the Boston Athenaeum.
12. Arsène Houssaye’s Des destinées de l’ame: This French book from the 19th century was bound in the skin of a woman who requested that her skin be used to bind a book after her death. It is currently housed at the Musée de la chasse et de la nature in Paris.
13. On the Art of Embalming by Gabriel Clauderus: This German medical text from the 17th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the Medical Historical Museum in Copenhagen.
14. Das Narrenschiff by Sebastian Brant: This German book of satire from the 16th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the John Hay Library at Brown University.
15. Le Petit Livre Rouge by Chairman Mao: This Chinese political text from the 20th century was bound in human skin. It is rumored to have been bound using the skin of Mao’s personal physician. The book’s current location is unknown.
16. Essai sur les maladies des dents by Jean-Pierre Fauchard: This French dental text from the 18th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the Bibliothèque Interuniversitaire de Médecine in Paris.
17. The Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith: This religious text from the 19th century was reportedly bound in human skin. The book’s current location is unknown.
18. A Skin for Dancing In by Douglas Hyde: This Irish novel from the 20th century was bound in human skin. It is currently housed at the Marsh’s Library in Dublin.
19. The Remains of Henry Kirke White by Robert Southey: This English book from the 19th century was bound in the skin of the author’s deceased friend, Henry Kirke White. It is currently housed at Trinity College in Cambridge.
20. The Necronomicon by H.P. Lovecraft: This fictional book from the 20th century was reportedly bound in human skin in one of Lovecraft’s stories. However, no physical copies of the book are known to exist.
While the practice of binding books in human skin may be unsettling, it is important to understand the historical and cultural context behind it. Many of these books were bound as a way to commemorate the dead or as a symbol of the person’s devotion to their craft or their religion. As our understanding of death and the treatment of human remains continues to evolve, the practice of anthropodermic bibliopegy has become increasingly rare and controversial. Nonetheless, these books provide us with a fascinating look into the past and the ways in which people have grappled with the mysteries of death and the afterlife.
