Join #FOWLERNATION!! http://bit.ly/SubscribeFowlerNation
Become a Patron! http://Patreon.com/FowlerShow
Surely, you’ve seen our recent work on anthropodermic bibliopegy, the early modern practice of binding books in human skin?
No? Well, a quick refresher: some books, since the 16th century but before our own time, were bound in human skin. Why? “The confessions of criminals were occasionally bound in the skin of the convicted,” Harvard librarian Heather Cole explained, “or an individual might request to be memorialized for family or lovers in the form of a book.”
Qué romantico!
Anyway, we know it happened because people refer to it happening in the literature of the time, and also because some books bore inscriptions that literally said that they were bound in skin.
But such tomes are suspect. You can’t just trust anyone who says they’ve bound a book in human skin. For example, one had this inscription, but turned out to be stupid sheepskin:
The bynding of this booke is all that remains of my dear friende Jonas Wright, who was flayed alive by the Wavuma on the Fourth Day of August, 1632. King Mbesa did give me the book, it being one of poore Jonas chiefe possessions, together with ample of his skin to bynd it.
And so, I am happy to report, the Houghton Library’s copy of Arsène Houssaye’s Des destinées de l’ame “is without a doubt bound in human skin,” Cole, who is the assistant curator of modern nooks and manuscripts at the library, reports in a new blog post. (Des destinées de l’ame, by the way, translates to The destiny of the soul.)
And how do we know for sure this time, as opposed to taking the word of some creative bookbinder? The book, which had already attracted the attention of a Harvard dermatologist, was tested by the Harvard Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Resource Laboratory. Basically, you create a profile of proteins in the putative human skin, then you run the same test for reference samples of human skin, sheepskin, goatskin, leather (i.e. cow skin). Whatever it matches up with the best: that’s what your binding is made of.
So… “The [test result] from Des destinées de l’ame matched the human reference, and clearly eliminated other common parchment sources, such as sheep, cattle and goat,” said Bill Lane, the director of the Harvard laboratory.
These Patrons make the Fowler Show possible ($20+ monthly donation on Patreon.com/FowlerShow) & we couldn’t do it without them!
Truthservers.com
Are you a fan of The Fowler Show? Become a Patron & help support independent media! Learn more here:
http://www.patreon.com/fowlershow
Want to help out but don’t have any money to donate? Donate your account & help us get our stories out on social media. Learn more here:
http://www.donateyouraccount.com/fowlershow
If you liked this clip, share it with your friends and hit that “like” button!
1,500 Subscriber Behind The Scenes Reward Video –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT9x1PvQTBU
Subscribe to our Podcast on iTunes for free!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-richard-fowler-show/id510713880
@fowlershow
@richardafowler
http://www.facebook.com/richardfowlershow
http://www.fowlershow.com
http://fowlershow.tumblr.com/