Harvard library removes human skin from book binding

Harvard University removed human skin from the binding of “Des destinées de l’âme” in Houghton Library Wednesday after a review found ethical concerns with the book’s origin and history.

French physician Dr. Ludovic Bouland “bound the book with skin he took without consent from the body of a deceased female patient in a hospital where he worked,” according to Harvard Library.  

Bouland included a handwritten note inside stating “a book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering,” said associate university librarian Thomas Hyry. The note also detailed the process behind preparing the skin for binding.

The removal was prompted by a library review following the Harvard University report on the human remains in its museum collections.

“Harvard Library and the Harvard Museum Collections Returns Committee concluded that the human remains used in the book’s binding no longer belong in the Harvard Library collections, due to the ethically fraught nature of the book’s origins and subsequent history,” said a statement from the library Wednesday.

The removed skin is now in “secure storage at Harvard Library.” 

The library will be conducting additional research into the book, Bouland and the anonymous female patient. They are also working with French authorities to determine a “final respectful disposition.”