Were Books Really Bound in Human Skin?

Please tell me it's called a Skindle.

"Ask a Mortician" is now a "History class with a Mortician" and I like that a LOT

As a person with albinism, and generally very good skin (probably because I don't smoke and mostly have to stay out of the sun) I would be pleased to think my skin would be made into a book (I don't doubt it would be beautiful) especially if it was a book that helped educate people about the albino experience in some way, medically or culturally. My faith does not restrict me as to the fate of my body after death. so flense away! And while you're at it, maybe you could make some of my hair into string to bind the spine. Boil my bones to make the glue. I'm basically already a human book.

In 1828, one of my ancestors - 'William Corder' was hung, drawn and quartered for the murder of Maria Marten ("The Red Barn Murder"). His skin was used to bind a book about the murder, and his skeleton was kept at the Royal College of Surgeons of England until 2004 when his remains were cremated. The book made from his skin is still on display along with a replica of his death mask at the Moyses' Hall Museum in Suffolk, England.

Cadaver skin was part of what was used to reconstruct my chest after my cancer was removed. I am grateful for the person who donated their tissue and skin to me every day. Consent in tissue donation is really important.

"Who was making these books?" "Doctors" If I've learned anything from this channel is that 19th century doctors were some of the scariest breeds of people to walk this earth

I actually like the gravity that a human skin medical book holds to the reader. The philosophical and emotional impact of holding someone's literal body and representative life in your hands is a sobering reminder of how incredibly important a physician's duty is to their patients. It's also a beautiful sentiment, in the strangest of ways, that the medical knowledge contained in those texts comes from the patients who came before them. People who bravely and desperately suffered experimental treatment until an effective remedy was finally invented for the condition they may or may not have survived.

Well that rendition of the Reading Rainbow theme will haunt my dreams and live in my head rent free for a few weeks to come 😂💀

"It wasn't weirdos, it was doctors!" ...I propose that there is some overlap between these two groups.

Wonderful video, Caitlin! We can't wait to collaborate with you again!

"A book that so perfectly captures the human soul should also be wearing the human skin." That goes right onto my dashboard of fascinating logic.

Hi, Caitlyn's Dad! I love your daughter, her work, her amazing sense of humor. Thank you for bringing her into the world. Thank you for making her ready to take the world by the horns. Thank you for loving her, she's loved by so many of us. I do appreciate all your hard work and care and love, Sir.

Your dad clattering around right when you said “hello from my parents’ house” is just too perfect 😅

There is a saying, "The damage has already been done..." I think this also fits here. The skin has been removed, treated, and are a part of the book. The Damage has been done. Pull the skin off the books and burying them is not going to fix or repair the damage. However, keeping the books as they are will repeatedly bring up the past so we can continue to learn from it. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. History should never be erased but re-visited from time to time so we can avoid going into the repeat loop.

This is so great! I work in the book conservation lab at one of the institutions that houses one of the Phyllis Wheatleys. We've had both of them in our lab. They're just...books, really. You'd never know that they were bound in human skin if no one told you. As to the ethics of them, I completely disagree that they should be disbound and buried. It's part of the history of the book, both good and bad. I think that trying to cover up unfavorable histories because they're "distasteful" is just as bad now as it was at any other point in history. We're human, and sometimes we do things that are baffling and make our descendants uncomfortable. But trying to step over that is worse. I'm sure he means well, but removing history because it's unfavorable sets us up to repeat it.

I feel this is a similar situation and 've been complaining about this for 50 years. Go into a museum and you can see real human skeletons. But can't take a shoe from a sunken ship? One rule for one and one rule for another. Not allowed to dig up Queen Victoria are we? But it's okay for some unknown working man.

As a former history teacher I say teach the controversy. It teaches critical thinking, research, supporting your claims with evidence and just being able to form your own point of view. Also would it be more disrespectful to ignore what happened to the people post mortem?

The most disturbing part about those books isn't the idea of dark magic, but rather the dehumanization process that went with many of them. The idea of using a fellow human as cattle is disturbing.

I'm surprised you haven't mentioned about William Burke's skin being used as a wallet after his execution and public dissection. It was my first experience learning what Anthropodermic Bibliopegy was when I read about it.

I like the idea of the “Skin Books” being curated as historical artifacts not on open public display, but available for inspection by appointment. Once again, Caitlin, you’ve done a fantastic job on a difficult subject!