The text has been in Harvard's possession since the 1930s, but the grim discovery of a human skin binding was only confirmed in 2014.
FILE - Harvard University said it has removed book binding made from human skin from an infamous copy of Arsène Houssaye's "Des Destinées de l’Ame." .The 19th-century text by Arsène Houssaye has been in Harvard’s possession since the 1930s, but the grim discovery of the book’s binding was only confirmed after testing in 2014.The book was bound using stolen skin from a deceased, female medical patient who did not give consent.
Harvard also cited “library lore” which suggests decades earlier the book was used in hazing rituals for student employees. The unsuspecting student would reportedly be asked to retrieve the book without knowledge that is bound with human remains.“Harvard Library acknowledges past failures in its stewardship of the book that further objectified and compromised the dignity of the human being whose remains were used for its binding,” the institution wrote.
“I had kept this piece of human skin taken from the back of a woman,” the note reads. “A book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering.” The since-stripped copy of Houssaye’s work is believed to be the only one bound in human skin at Harvard.
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