A Book Made from Dead Women's Skin... Harvard University Faces 'Ethical Controversy' and Decides to Remove the Cover

10 Years Ago Known Facts Yet No Action Taken Until Recently
'Ethics Controversy' Leads to Cover Removal... Stored Separately

Harvard University, a prestigious institution in the United States, decided to remove the cover of a 19th-century book made from 'human skin' after being embroiled in an ethical controversy.

On the 31st of last month (local time), the Associated Press reported that Harvard University removed the human skin used as the cover of the book "Destiny of the Soul" by French author Ars?ne Houssaye (1815?1896), which had been held in the Houghton Library for nearly 100 years since the 1930s, following concerns about ethical issues. Harvard stated that this action was taken after the Library and Museum Collections Return Committee reviewed a 2022 report on human remains in museum collections and concluded that Houssaye's book, which used human skin, should no longer be held.

The Harvard University collection book "The Fate of the Soul," which caused controversy for having a cover made of human skin
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

The book was written by Houssaye in 1879. The first owner of the book, French doctor Ludovic Bouland, received it as a gift from his friend Houssaye. However, Bouland later removed the skin of a woman who had died of a heart attack at the hospital where he worked without consent and used it to create a new book cover. A handwritten note inserted by Bouland in the book read, "A book dealing with the human soul should be bound in human skin." Harvard University received the book as a donation in 1934.

In 2014, Harvard confirmed through peptide mass fingerprinting, a method for identifying proteins, that the book cover was made from human skin rather than calf or sheepskin. At that time, the Houghton Library explained, "While making book covers from human skin may seem bizarre today, this practice dates back to the 16th century," adding, "In the past, people nearing death sometimes requested their skin be used to make books so they would be remembered after death." Another issue was that the university allowed anyone to access the book relatively recently. Ultimately, Harvard acknowledged that there were ethical problems in managing the book.

"The removed human skin will be handled with dignity in consultation with French authorities"

Harvard stated, "We will conduct further investigations regarding Bouland and the human skin," and added, "We will also seek ways to respectfully and finally handle the human skin removed from the book in cooperation with French authorities." Furthermore, the human skin cover removed from Houssaye's book is currently stored in a secure location within the university.

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