Buzz
For book enthusiasts, few things stir the imagination like stepping into a room filled with timeworn, leather-clad books. Of course, the type of leather used can change the entire experience. While snake, fish, and elephant hides have all served as materials for bookbinding, human skin has, on rare occasions, also been used. This gruesome practice, known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, is thankfully uncommon, but scientific testing has confirmed its existence in several cases.
Here are ten books bound in human skin that you may want to think twice about placing on your bookshelf.
10. The Highwayman
The Boston Athenaeum, a private library established in 1807, holds within its vast collection a particularly eerie book titled, in full, Narrative of the Life of James Allen, alias George Walton, alias Jonas Pierce, alias James H. York, alias Burley Grove, The Highwayman. Being His Death-bed Confession, to the Warden of the Massachusetts State Prison. At first glance, it appears to be just another 19th-century book, elegantly bound in fine white leather. However, a Latin inscription on the cover reads, 'This book is bound in the skin of Walton.'
The man in question, George Walton, was the author of the book. A notorious figure, Walton earned his fortune through burglary and highway robbery. Though a thief, he was somewhat honorable in that he never sought to take a life—unless forced to do so. One such victim of his attempted robbery was John Fenno, who fought back valiantly. This courageous resistance so impressed Walton that, as he lay dying from a lung disease in prison, he ordered a copy of his confession to be bound in his own skin and given to Fenno.
9. The Dance of Death
It’s no surprise that many books bound in human skin delve into dark and macabre themes. Humanity has long been captivated by the subject of death, and numerous texts exploring this topic have been embellished with the unsettling addition of human flesh.
Hans Holbein, the renowned artist at Henry VIII's court, was known not only for his grand portraits but also for his talent in illustration. In the 1520s, he created a series of images surrounding the theme of death, later published in a work called The Dance of Death. Many of these woodcuts carried satirical elements, such as depicting a king dining with skeletons to remind us that even the most powerful monarchs are not immune to death.
One of the copies of this work was bound in 'white human skin.' It is currently housed in Brown University’s library, though it is not on public display. According to archival records, the book is adorned with illustrations of arrows, knuckle bones, and death’s heads. Protein analysis has confirmed the leather is human, but the identity of the donor remains a mystery.
8. The Land of the Sky
Camille Flammarion, a prominent French astronomer in the early 20th century, was also deeply fascinated by the supernatural. Alongside his scientific contributions, he made some startling claims, such as the idea that Martians had attempted to contact Earth and that the gas from Halley’s Comet could potentially wipe out all life on our planet. Despite these outlandish theories, Flammarion had quite a following.
One French countess became so captivated by Flammarion that she had his portrait permanently inked on her skin. As her health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, she made a curious request to her doctor: to remove a piece of her skin, treat it to become leather, and present it to Flammarion, so it could be used to bind one of his books. Her wish was fulfilled, and Flammarion selected The Land of the Sky as the book to honor her final request.
Flammarion had a message inscribed on the cover of the book, reading, 'Pious fulfillment of an anonymous wish. Binding in human skin (woman) 1882.'
7. The Destinies of the Soul
What could be more fitting for a book exploring the intangible human soul than a cover made from the very flesh of a human body? Des destinées de l’âme (The Destinies of the Soul) was written by the French author Arsène Houssaye. It was one of his medical friends, Dr. Ludovic Bouland, who decided that the book needed a binding made from human skin.
Bouland used a copy of the book he had received from the author and had it bound in human skin. A letter placed inside the book by Bouland explains his reasoning behind the choice: 'This book is bound in human skin parchment, with no ornamentation to maintain its simple elegance. Upon close inspection, the pores of the skin are visible. A book about the human soul deserved a human covering: I had preserved this piece of skin taken from the back of a woman.' He further remarks that this human leather is distinct from another example in his library.
Today, the book resides in Harvard University’s collection. Another book within Harvard’s library bears an inscription that reads, 'The bynding of this booke is all that remains of my dear friende Jonas Wright, who was flayed alive by the Wavuma on the Fourth Day of August, 1632. King Mbesa did give me the book, it being one of poore Jonas chiefe possessions, together with ample of his skin to bynd it. Requiescat in pace.' Other books in the library, thought to be bound in human skin, were tested and found to be sheepskin, making The Destinies the only authentic example at Harvard.
6. Medical Texts
At the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, three books were rebound in the 19th century by Dr. John Stockton Hough. Hough, at the young age of 23, made a groundbreaking discovery in 1869 when he determined that a woman named Mary Lynch had not died from tuberculosis, as was originally believed, but from trichinosis—her flesh infested with parasitic worms. To commemorate his successful autopsy, Hough took a piece of skin from her thigh and transformed it into leather. It is doubtful that Lynch had consented to this use of her body.
Hough prepared the skin by placing it in a chamber pot for several months to transform it into leather. Once he had successfully converted the skin, he waited 20 years before putting it to use. He chose three texts, all focused on female anatomy, reproduction, and childbirth, to bind with Mary Lynch's skin. He ensured future readers would know the origin of the material by making a note in each book, stating that the binding was made from human skin.
Hough’s interest extended beyond the skin he had personally collected. He also possessed another book bound in human skin, which he noted as being crafted from 'skin from around the wrist of a man who died in the [Philadelphia] Hospital 1869—Tanned by J.S.H. 1869. This bit of leather never boiled or curried.'
5. 'The Gold Bug'
Edgar Allan Poe, known for his mastery of the eerie and macabre, is said to have had one of his works bound in human skin, according to auction records.
'The Gold Bug' is a short story about a man bitten by a golden beetle and the search for hidden pirate treasure. During the hunt, the seekers discover human skeletons, making it fitting that this edition of the book is rumored to be bound in human skin. The copy, which was once sold at auction, features several inscriptions related to the binding, including one that reads, 'Dear John – What a tribute to the morbid death-loving Poe to find the 'Gold Bug' in human skin.' The leather cover is decorated with symbols of death, including a sickle, a shovel, and the golden beetle descending into a skull.
It was sold for $1020.
4. The Horwood Book
John Horwood was just 18 years old when he was executed in 1821 at a prison in Bristol. He had been convicted of murdering a woman with whom he had an unhealthy obsession. When Eliza Balsum turned him down, Horwood threatened to kill her. One day, he saw her walking in the street and threw a stone at her, hitting her just below the eye—she later succumbed to her injuries.
At the time, bodies for medical dissection typically came from convicted criminals. Dissection was considered another form of punishment for felons. Dr. Richard Smith, who had also treated Eliza for her injuries, performed the dissection on Horwood. He meticulously documented the details of the case and bound his notes into a book using Horwood’s own skin. The book's cover bears the inscription 'Cutis Vera Johannis Horwood'—'the actual skin of John Horwood'—in gold lettering.
Based on the notes, some have speculated that Horwood was wrongfully convicted of the murder, leading to his execution. Unfortunately, such hindsight did not suffice to save his skin.
3. Burke’s Notebook
As previously mentioned, 19th-century doctors were in desperate need of bodies for dissection. While most cadavers came from executed criminals, there were times when the supply was insufficient. Enter the Resurrection Men, individuals who dug up freshly buried corpses to sell to medical schools. On occasion, they bypassed the grave robbing entirely and turned to murder to fulfill the demand for bodies.
William Burke and William Hare were responsible for around 16 murders, which they committed to provide Edinburgh University’s medical school with cadavers. Hare testified against Burke and was granted immunity, while Burke was sentenced to death. The judge remarked, 'Your body should be publicly dissected and anatomized. And I trust, that if it ever becomes customary to preserve skeletons, yours will be preserved, so posterity may remember your heinous crimes.'
Burke’s body was indeed dissected as ordered, and his skin was removed and transformed into leather. This leather was used to bind a small notebook, which featured intricate gilded tooling and the inscription 'Burke’s Skin Pocket Book' on the cover. The book even contained a pencil for writing notes.
2. The Red Barn Murder
When William Corder killed his lover Maria Marten in 1827, it stirred a public frenzy, with people clamoring for details of the case. Marten had previously had a child with Corder’s older brother, but she planned to run away with Corder after bearing his child. Corder lured her to a red barn nearby, where they intended to hide until they could flee together. She was never seen alive again.
Marten’s stepmother had vivid dreams of Maria in a red barn, which led her to persuade her husband to dig at the location. There, Maria’s body was found. Corder was apprehended, tried for murder, and sentenced to hang, followed by dissection of his body.
Death masks of Corder were taken, but so were portions of his scalp and enough of his skin to create a book documenting the details of the murder. This book remains on display in a local museum. Corder’s skeleton was also reconstructed and exhibited by the Royal College of Physicians until it was finally cremated in 2004.
1. Garnet Book
The Gunpowder Plot remains one of the most infamous assassination attempts in British history. A group of Catholic conspirators planned to blow up Parliament during the king’s speech in a bid to eliminate much of the governing class. Their plot was foiled, and many of the conspirators met horrific ends. Father Henry Garnet, a Jesuit priest who knew about the plot but kept it secret due to the sanctity of confession, was executed for his involvement. He was hung, drawn, and quartered as punishment for his silence.
In 2007, a book about Garnet’s crime, originally published in 1606, was auctioned. Titled A True and Perfect Relation of the Whole Proceedings Against the Late Most Barbarous Traitors, Garnet a Jesuit and His Confederates, it was claimed to be bound in the skin of the priest, with an image of his face depicted on the cover.
Whether or not the book was actually bound in Garnet’s skin remains unverified. It was sold for £5400 at the auction.
