harvard university library books bound in human skin

#Harvard university library books bound in human skin skin#

#Harvard university library books bound in human skin skin#

'It was necessary i keep this piece of human skin taken from the body of a woman,' he wrote.'By looking carefully you can easily distinguish the pores of the skin.' 'This book is bound in human skin parchment on which no ornament has ever been stamped to preserve its elegance,' wrote Bouland in an autograph manuscript within the book. It was Bouland who had the book bound with human skin. The book dates back to the 1880s and was a gift from the author Houssaye to one of his close friend, Dr.Microscopic samples were recently taken from various locations on the binding, and were analyzed by peptide mass fingerprinting, which identifies some amouts of proteins to create a “peptide mass fingerprint” (PMF) allowing analysts to identify the source.According to a professional senior Rare Book Conservator Alan Puglia, they are 99% confident that the binding is of human origin. Harvard conservators and scientists tested the binding using several different methods.

Scientists at Harvard conducted a series of tests on the binding and say they are ' 99% confident' that the skin comes from a human:.Harvard University's Houghton Library officials sometimes ago announced that one of the books in its collection is made with human skin.The book in question is a French book ' Des destinees de l'ame' by author Arsene Houssaye, and the skin comes from the unclaimed body of a female mentally ill patient who suffered a stroke and passed away.