Books bound in human skin

Around the world, surrounded by ordinary books bound in paper and leather, rest in certain libraries sinister volumes of a very particular kind: works bound in human skin. Megan Rosenbloom investigates the historical and scientific truths that underlie anthropodermic bibliopegy – a practice dating mostly from the 19th century of binding books with this most intimate leather. In this book, she unearths their origins and resurrects the collectors, doctors, murderers, innocents and destitute people who were the protagonists of this story. Throughout the text, the author also tells how, with the help of a team made up of scientists, curators and librarians, she authenticates the supposed anthropodermic books, unraveling the myths surrounding their creation and questioning the ethic of their conservation. In Books Bound in Human Skin. A survey of anthropodermic bibliopegy – a captivating and macabre work in the best sense of the word –, Megan Rosenbloom develops a story at the crossroads of academic intrigue and medical curiosity, which returns to the problematic relationship that medicine may have maintained with the underprivileged classes.