The article below contains the curious story of a murderer who wrote a book about himself and then had the book bound in his own skin.
Curiosities in Book Binding
A History of a Murderer Bound in His Own Skin
There is a Latin manuscript Bible in the library of the Vatican at Rome bound in the mantle once worn by King Abgarus, the friend of Jesus.
A Greek copy of Arelius’ “Golden Ass,” now in the British museum at London, is bound in the skin of an ass tanned with the hair on.
A book giving the life history of Jeffrey Hudson, the celebrated dwarf, to be seen in the same museum, is bound in a piece of a silk waistcoat which was formerly worn by King Charles I.
Of late, the fashion of binding works on anatomy, physiology, and kindred subjects in human skin is becoming popular in many European countries. Some take this for an innovation, but history mentions several books bound in human skin as early as the sixteenth century.
At Bury St. Edmunds public library may be found a history of the life and trial of a murderer bound in his own skin!
The French revolutionists, who seemed to delight in the fact that they were marking an epoch in the history of mankind, revived the human skin book binding fad of the sixteenth century, and took great pleasure in presenting some brother revolutionist with copies of Volney and Voltaire done up in the skin of some enemy.
The writer owns some evidences of a book binder’s pleasantries in copies of Bacon’s work bound in pig skin (bacon rind) and Fox’s historical works done up in the skin of sly reynard.
Source: Emmons County record. (Williamsport, D.T.), 26 Dec. 1890.
