The Macabre Legacy of Anthropodermic Bibliopegy: Murderers Whose Skin Became

The unsettling practice of anthropodermic bibliopegy, the binding of books in human skin, has a long and morbid history. While not always the case, some known instances involve the skin of murderers, often as a form of posthumous punishment or memorialization of their crimes. Delving into these documented cases reveals the grim details of individuals whose heinous acts led to their remains being used in such a macabre fashion.
One of the most infamous examples is that of William Burke, one half of the notorious duo Burke and Hare who committed a series of murders in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the 1820s. They sold the bodies of their victims to a surgeon for dissection. After their crimes were discovered, Burke was executed in 1829. Following his public dissection, a pocketbook was created using his skin, and it is now held at Surgeons' Hall Museum in Edinburgh. This served as a grim memento of his crimes and a stark reminder of his fate.
Another documented case involves John Horwood, who was hanged in Bristol, England, in 1821 for the murder of a young woman. After his execution and subsequent dissection, his skin was tanned and used to bind a collection of papers detailing his crime, trial, and dissection. The book's cover was even embossed with skulls and crossbones and the Latin inscription "Cutis Vera Johannis Horwood," meaning "The True Skin of John Horwood."
In the United States, the story of James Allen, a highwayman in Massachusetts in the 19th century, provides a unique instance. Before his death, Allen requested that his autobiography be bound in his own skin and presented to one of his victims who had bravely resisted his robbery attempt. Two copies were reportedly made, one for the victim and another for his doctor, making this a case of self-requested anthropodermic binding linked to his criminal life.
The motivations behind using a murderer's skin for bookbinding varied. In some instances, it was a form of public humiliation and a denial of a proper burial, as seen in the case of Burke. For others, like Horwood, it served as a morbid record of their crimes and punishment. The case of James Allen is particularly unusual, representing a personal request tied to his life as a criminal.
Beyond these specific individuals, the practice of using the skin of executed criminals for bookbinding was not uncommon in certain periods, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. This practice was often seen as a way to mark the severity of their transgressions and to create a lasting, if gruesome, artifact connected to their lives and deaths.
The existence of these anthropodermic books bound in the skin of murderers offers a chilling glimpse into historical attitudes towards crime, punishment, and the human body. These objects, often held in museums and libraries today, continue to provoke strong reactions and raise ethical questions about their preservation and display. While the exact number of such books remains uncertain, the documented cases provide a stark reminder of a macabre practice that intertwined the lives and deaths of criminals with the very objects that sought to record their stories.
Source@BBC