Harvard Library removes binding made of human skin from rare book

Harvard University officials announced the removal of the human skin binding from a rare book in the school’s Houghton Library.

The work, Arsène Houssaye’s Des destinées de l’âme, or The Destiny of Souls in English, was first owned by French physician and bibliophile Dr. Ludovic Bouland, who declared, “A book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering.”

Bouland took the skin used to bind the book without consent from a female patient who died in the hospital where he worked, according to a release from the Harvard Library.

“The book has been in the collections of Harvard Library since 1934, initially placed on deposit by John B. Stetson, Jr. (1884–1952), an American diplomat, businessman, and Harvard alumnus (AB 1906), and later through donation by his widow Ruby F. Stetson to Houghton Library in 1954,” the release read.

“The removal of the human skin from Des destinées de l’âme follows a review by Houghton Library of the book’s stewardship, prompted by the recommendations of the Report of the Harvard University Steering Committee on Human Remains in University Museum Collections issued in fall 2022,” it added.

Following a review, stakeholder engagement, and wide consideration, a conclusion was reached that keeping the human skin binding in the Harvard Library’s collection was untenable due to the “ethically fraught” nature of its origin, according to the release.

“The Library is now in the process of conducting additional provenance and biographical research into the book, Bouland, and the anonymous female patient, as well as consulting with appropriate authorities at the University and in France to determine a final respectful disposition of these human remains,” the release read.

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During its time at Harvard, the text was available for anyone who would ask for it, and lore suggests it was once used for hazing purposes.

“Harvard Library acknowledges past failures in its stewardship of the book that further objectified and compromised the dignity of the human being whose remains were used for its binding,” the release noted. “We apologize to those adversely affected by these actions.”