Tags: bookbinding,books,art,book,binding,crafts,leather,bound,bibliopegy,

The art of bookbinding has been around since the 1st century AD. Over the course of time, various mediums have been used to cover the outside of the books. Leather and cloths have been the most common materials used in the binding of book. Would you believe the most unusual material used to cover a book was that of human skin? It is said to feel very soft, much like suede. It is also said to be reasonably inexpensive, durable and waterproof. The practice of binding books in human skin, also known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, appears to have been most popular during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Many of the first books covered in human skin were medical books. The skins were primarily from amputated body parts and unclaimed corpses of the poor but were also obtained through executed criminals. As gruesome as this seems, the medical profession viewed the bodies being used as a compliment to the deceased. Dr. John Stockton Hough, from the University of Philadelphia, was known in for diagnosing the cities first case of trichinosis. He had four medical volumes bound from skin of three of his deceased patients. Another doctor, Dr. Charles Humberd studied gigantism and had a book on the topic bound in human skin. The skin was from an eight feet six inch Ringling Brothers Circus Giant by the name of Perky.

There are also circumstances in which the author or owner of the text donated their body for the purpose of becoming the covering of the book. A book written in 1837 entitled ‘Narrative of the life of James Allen, alias George Walton, alias Jonas Pierce, alias James H. York, alias Burley Grove, the highwayman. Being his death-bed confession, to the warden of the Massachusetts state prison’ was bound in the author’s own skin. The finished book was then sent to John A. Fenno, one of George Walton’s victims who successfully resisted the robber during the attempted theft. This book was later donated to the Boston Athanaeum, an independent library in Boston, Mass. It was not uncommon for an executed convict’s body to be used to cover the court journal and presented to the victim’s family or for a book to be published about the criminal. Another book bound by the skin of its previous owner is found in the Cleveland Public Library. The book is a Quran, the sacred text of Islam, and its owner was an Arab tribal leader.

Most of the best books bound in human skin are in private libraries throughout the world. One would be surprised how many of these books are in the nationÂ’s finest libraries, including the Harvard University Libraries. There are several books bound in human skin throughout the various libraries, including two at the medical school library. The Harvard law school library purchased a copy of a 1605 practice manual for Spanish lawyers for a mere $42.50 from an antiquarian book seller in New Orleans. The last page of the book was inscribed with:

“The bynding of this booke is all that remains of my deare friende Jonas Wright, who was flayed alive by the Wavuma on the Fourth Day of August, 1632.” (The Wavuma appear to be an African tribe.)

Other human bound books can be found at Brown University, University of Memphis in Tennessee, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Clendening Library at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

History of Bookbinding – {39} Vintage Books on DVD $12.95

Tan Upholstery Hide Leather Piece Skin Bookbinding Y70B $14.00

Tan Upholstery Hide Leather Piece Skin Bookbinding Y70H $22.00

Tan Upholstery Hide Leather Piece Skin Bookbinding Y70k $20.00

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Photographic Print of BOOKBINDING EXAMPLE – 3 from Mary Evans £10.00 10×8 Print. Printed on 254×203mm Fuji Crystal Archive paper for stable image permanence and brilliant colour reproduction with smooth tones, enhanced sharpness, and excellent definition….

Photographic Print of Bookbinder / bookbinding from Lebrecht Music a Arts Photo Library £20.00 10×8 Photograph (25×20cm). Bookbinder / bookbinding firm advertisement from 1902 printers catalogue. C H Schwabe, Buchbinderei, Stuttgart. Gold printing. Art deco and nouveau style, with typical design and symbols. Surround / border…

Photographic Print of Bookbinding in the 15th from Lebrecht Music a Arts Photo Library £20.00 10×8 Photograph (25×20cm). Bookbinding in the 15th century – illustration from Stunde und Handwerker by Jobst Amman. Book production. Craft. Workshop. Craftsman…

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Handmade Decorative Books (Passion for Paper) £6.08 Designed for the craft market, this book covers how to make a number of decorated books, starting with simple techniques such as book ring and accordion-folded books, before moving on to flag, piano-hinge, star and other types of books. It uses different colours and images that can be changed to suit taste or occasion….

Re-Bound: Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials £8.03 …

Making Books £6.63 Practical book-making ideas for children in the primary school are given in this book, with activities that cover a range of text types from a sequential narrative to advertising copy. There are step-by-step instructions and diagrams for each project, along with photographs of the the finished book…

Japanese Bookbinding $26.11 A third-generation traditional bookbinder gives easy-to-follow instructions for making all the major, historically important styles of Japanese bindings as well as traditional book cases—the custom-made folding boxes that afford handsome protecti…

Bookbinding Techniques and Projects (Paperback) $19.5 The ancient art and craft of bookbinding fulfills both practical and aesthetic functions. A book`s binding protects its pages and print while also embellishing the volume`s exterior, sometimes transforming an otherwise ordinary book into a true work of…

Basic Bookbinding $7.87 Describes tools, basic materials, and the simple techniques and processes for cloth bookbinding in the library style.

Bookbinding $10.07 Considered by many bookbinders and librarians to be the clearest and most valuable exposition of hand bookbinding in English, this volume concisely covers virtually every aspect of the craft — from folding and collating pages, trimming and g…

An Artful Craft (Hardcover) $65 Description not available.

Hand Bookbinding $10.26 Expert guide to creating fine books by hand. Thorough, detailed instructions, with over 270 helpful illustrations, cover materials, tools and equipment, making a slipcase, rebinding an old book, more. Also, 8 specific projects: dust jacket; blank …

Bookbinding Handbook (Hardcover) $10.01 Description not available.

We R Memory Keepers Cinch Binder Tool $89.99 Now you can make your very own books right at home. With the Cinch book binding tool by We R Memory Keepers, up to 20 pages can be bound, threaded and cinched with wire.

Re-bound (Hardcover) $16.33 Re-Bound is a beautiful book on bookbinding with a fun green twist-all the projects use recycled and upcycled materials. This book shows you how to take everyday materials from around the house, flea markets, thrift stores, and hardware store…

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