YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A HUMAN SKIN BOOK.
NOW WHAT?
Whether it quivers your bones or piques your morbid curiosity, there's no denying that human skin bound books are out there. So, what do we do now?
Do we leave them in libraries and museums? Do we give the human remains a respectful burial? What does respect mean in this case?
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BURY
IT
For Harvard, the answer was to separate the human remains from the book. In 2024, Harvard removed the skin binding from Des destinées de l’âme, while keeping the text in its collection. The skin was placed in temporary storage while researchers attempted to identify the woman it belonged to and determine what a respectful final resting place might look like. They were unable to determine her identity.
DISPLAY
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Des destinées de l’âme as an artifact was effectively destroyed. But for Megan Rosenbloom, the librarian turned author who wrote 2020's Dark Archives - an investigation into human-bound books - the answer isn't erasure. Her conclusion after six years of research is that while the existence of human skin books may be uncomfortable, they must be stewarded and kept as evidence, artifacts, and basis for future research. She argues that our understanding of what would be respectful treatment of human remains shouldn't be considered the final word. And since we can't know for sure what would be most respectful, we should preserve the history as opposed to change it.
HIDE
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At Brown University, after four books in their collection were confirmed as anthropodermic, the university substantially changed how it allowed the books to be treated. They restricted access to the books and began treating them as human remains, to be handled with care and discretion. Unlike Harvard however, Brown decided to keep the books intact.