Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc (2020), 274 pages
Description
"A medical librarian presents a fascinating, terrifying look into history's rarest books-- those bound in human skin-- and the stories of their creation and collection"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member NielsenGW
It’s called anthropodermic bibliopegy, but behind the jargon lurks an unsettling science – the art of binding books in tanned and treated human skin. Megan Rosenbloom, a librarian at UCLA, and her colleague Daniel Kirby, a chemist from Northeastern University, have pioneered a technique to
Rosenbloom journeys across the United States and Europe to detail the histories and finding from testing various reputed human skin books. Each volume tested has a story, and those stories reveal a little more about both the makers and the takers. Some skin was used surreptitiously, some was used after being given purposefully.
There’s Dr. John Hough, who used the skin of a tuberculosis victim at his hospital to bind medical texts. And there’s James Allen, who recited his autobiography to Charles Lincoln on his deathbed in jail, and requested that his skin be used to bind two copies of the book: one for the stenographer and one for John Fenno, a man he tried to rob but turned the tables on Allen.
Rosenbloom’s investigations into the origins and ethics of human skin books are fascinating to say the least, and the questions she raises tend to reflect more modern sensibilities of bodily ownership and the limits of propriety. If this subject is the least bit interesting to you, I highly recommend this book. It reads quickly, but will linger longer than the afternoon it will take to finish.
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determine whether the leather binding from a given book is human or some other mammal. It’s an eerie gig to be in, for sure, but knowing where a binding comes from gives a book that much more history.Rosenbloom journeys across the United States and Europe to detail the histories and finding from testing various reputed human skin books. Each volume tested has a story, and those stories reveal a little more about both the makers and the takers. Some skin was used surreptitiously, some was used after being given purposefully.
There’s Dr. John Hough, who used the skin of a tuberculosis victim at his hospital to bind medical texts. And there’s James Allen, who recited his autobiography to Charles Lincoln on his deathbed in jail, and requested that his skin be used to bind two copies of the book: one for the stenographer and one for John Fenno, a man he tried to rob but turned the tables on Allen.
Rosenbloom’s investigations into the origins and ethics of human skin books are fascinating to say the least, and the questions she raises tend to reflect more modern sensibilities of bodily ownership and the limits of propriety. If this subject is the least bit interesting to you, I highly recommend this book. It reads quickly, but will linger longer than the afternoon it will take to finish.
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LibraryThing member JBD1
As good a treatment of books bound in human skin as we're likely to get. Rosenbloom's interest is obvious, and she manages to tread the fine line between making such a book too precious and too ghoulish. Her background and involvement with the ongoing scientific project to actually identify these
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bindings add much to the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member brangwinn
This is a book about which I said, “Wow, librarians do research like this?” Megan Rosenbloom tells the details of her search to find anthropodermic books…books with covers made of human skin. I expected the book to be a lot more creepy---perfect for October reading, but instead it was a
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fascinating, knowledgeable look at a complex issue. Miss Rosenbloom is a terrific storyteller taking the scientific and historical details and making what could be dry information into an intriguing book filled with detail and accuracy. Show Less
LibraryThing member spinsterrevival
Well this was fascinating and not quite as macabre as I thought it’d be. The subtitle tells the basics, but the author weaves an interesting mix of medical history, library science (I wish I’d learned some of this in my rare books class), and collectors. FYI the audiobook was a good listen,
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although the narrator’s French accent for some readings was pretty bad. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bodagirl
I don't know if a more macabre topic exists, but Rosenbloom treats the topic with a mixture of academic curiosity and medical ethics that balance each other nicely.
LibraryThing member rubberkeyhole
I was provided an advanced copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I should admit, I am a bit biased; I am a longtime follower (and member) of the Order of the Good Death, as well as Twitter follower of Megan Rosenbloom. I have studied death and dying and Immortality Theory
I am such a nerd when it comes to history and all of the answers to "but why?" and "but how?" - I need to know the inner workings, not just of what you're examining, but of the rationale of the person who decided it needed to exist. Rosenbloom did an incredible job of this - and with incredible care and consideration for all people and scientific research involved.
I should admit, I am a bit biased; I am a longtime follower (and member) of the Order of the Good Death, as well as Twitter follower of Megan Rosenbloom. I have studied death and dying and Immortality Theory
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in college and postgrad - so this book is right in my wheelhouse.I am such a nerd when it comes to history and all of the answers to "but why?" and "but how?" - I need to know the inner workings, not just of what you're examining, but of the rationale of the person who decided it needed to exist. Rosenbloom did an incredible job of this - and with incredible care and consideration for all people and scientific research involved.
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LibraryThing member adaorhell
not as thrilling as one would suspect
LibraryThing member iffland
Side note: I was a bit disappointed - lots of the book mentioned could not have been tested so the answers whether some books are anthropodermic remain unclear.
LibraryThing member dylkit
Wide-ranging, well researched and engagingly written.
LibraryThing member VadersMorwen
This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in macabre books.
The author is a librarian! This may be the most exciting part for me to know.
She is able to do thorough research and give us the information in a simplified way, as you would expect from a proper librarian!
She goes thru different
She is able to get samples and have them tested, she also goes thru the history of how the books, or why the books are covered in human skin.
This is a fascinating subject!
The author is a librarian! This may be the most exciting part for me to know.
She is able to do thorough research and give us the information in a simplified way, as you would expect from a proper librarian!
She goes thru different
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books in collections that may or may not be covered in human skin!She is able to get samples and have them tested, she also goes thru the history of how the books, or why the books are covered in human skin.
This is a fascinating subject!
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LibraryThing member Griffin_Reads
Dark Archives follows Megan Rosenbloom's investigations into anthropodermic bibliopegy, or the practice of binding books in human skin. Not only does it look at actual examples of the practice, but it also discusses the testing used to determine the real examples from the fakes, explains the
I found the book fascinating. There is so much that can be learned about the cultures of the people partaking in this by researching the practice. I don't agree with all of Rosenbloom's takes on the topic, but I was in particular agreement that these artifacts, both the real ones and the fakes, are actual parts of our human history and can be used to educate people on things like history, medical and legal ethics, culture, racism, and misogyny, and that these objects are inherently valuable because of this.
I think it would have been good for Rosenbloom to discuss in more detail the actual effects of racism and misogyny that this practice creates, as it seems like these were mostly glossed over in the book. A good first step in doing this would have been to be upfront with the results of the PMF testing before discussing the, sometimes alleged and sometimes real, stories of these books, as then the readers would know going into a story if it was an actual example or not. In not revealing the PMF results until the end of each book's story, it can make the reader confused as to which ones are real and which aren't, thereby lessening the impact on the reader of the racism and misogyny used to create the books.
The two biggest things this book could have done better are the aforementioned deeper discussions on how racism and misogyny impacted this practice, as well as including better transitions between chapters, as it occasionally felt a bit disjointed. That being said, there has been little research done on this practice, and this book is a good start into what could be an entire field of research. I would like to read more on this topic from a more intersectional lens, but I did thoroughly enjoy this book.
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stories of several real and fake examples, looks into historical medical ethics, how the practice was done, and current international laws on similar practices.I found the book fascinating. There is so much that can be learned about the cultures of the people partaking in this by researching the practice. I don't agree with all of Rosenbloom's takes on the topic, but I was in particular agreement that these artifacts, both the real ones and the fakes, are actual parts of our human history and can be used to educate people on things like history, medical and legal ethics, culture, racism, and misogyny, and that these objects are inherently valuable because of this.
I think it would have been good for Rosenbloom to discuss in more detail the actual effects of racism and misogyny that this practice creates, as it seems like these were mostly glossed over in the book. A good first step in doing this would have been to be upfront with the results of the PMF testing before discussing the, sometimes alleged and sometimes real, stories of these books, as then the readers would know going into a story if it was an actual example or not. In not revealing the PMF results until the end of each book's story, it can make the reader confused as to which ones are real and which aren't, thereby lessening the impact on the reader of the racism and misogyny used to create the books.
The two biggest things this book could have done better are the aforementioned deeper discussions on how racism and misogyny impacted this practice, as well as including better transitions between chapters, as it occasionally felt a bit disjointed. That being said, there has been little research done on this practice, and this book is a good start into what could be an entire field of research. I would like to read more on this topic from a more intersectional lens, but I did thoroughly enjoy this book.
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Language
Original publication date
2020
Physical description
274 p.; 8.58 inches
ISBN
0374134707 / 9780374134709
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