There seemed to be nothing remarkable about it, and you couldn't understand why it was here until you read in the front that it was bound in human leather. (We also saw a little duodecimo, Molleri manuale præparationis ad mortem. Writing about his visit to Bremen in 1710: Ludovic Bouland around 1865Īn early reference to a book bound in human skin is found in the travels of Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach. History A 17th-century book on female virginity in the Wellcome Library, rebound in human skin by Dr. The practice of binding a book in the skin of its author – as with The Highwayman – has been called 'autoanthropodermic bibliopegy' (from αὐτός, autos, meaning "self"). Thompson's article on the subject, published in 1946. The phrase "anthropodermic bibliopegy" has been used at least since Lawrence S. 1859 and the OED records an instance of 'bibliopegist' for a bookbinder from 1824.Īnthropodermic ( / ˌ æ n θ r oʊ p ə ˈ d ɜːr m ɪ k/ AN-throh-pə- DUR-mik), combining the Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ( anthropos, "man" or "human") and δέρμα ( derma, "skin"), does not appear in the Oxford English Dictionary and appears to be unused in contexts other than bookbinding. The earliest reference in the Oxford English Dictionary dates from 1876 Merriam-Webster gives the date of first use as c. It combines the Ancient Greek βιβλίον ( biblion, "book") and πηγία ( pegia, from pegnynai, "to fasten"). Terminology īibliopegy ( / ˌ b ɪ b l i ˈ ɒ p ɪ dʒ i/ BIB-lee- OP-i-jee) is a rare synonym for ' bookbinding'.
As of April 2022, The Anthropodermic Book Project has examined 31 out of 50 books in public institutions supposed to have anthropodermic bindings, of which 18 have been confirmed as human and 13 have been demonstrated to be animal leather instead. Practice of binding books in human skin A book bound in the skin of the murderer William Burke, on display in Surgeons' Hall Museum in EdinburghĪnthropodermic bibliopegy is the practice of binding books in human skin.