Harvard University has just stripped off one of its infamous books that was bound with human skin.
On March 27, 2024, Harvard University publicly announced they had removed the human skin from one of their books. Thus a 90-year long offence has come to an end: their copy of Des Destinées de l’âme by Arsène Houssaye (Paris, 1879) is now stripped off its infamous garment—as we say in French, la morale est sauve!Anthropodermic bibliopegy (binding books with human skin) wasn’t such a sin a few decades ago. We’ve already talked about those gruesome books in February 2017*: it was all about James Allen’s biography kept in the vaults of the private library Boston Athenaeum. The villain apparently asked some of his skin to be removed from his back after his execution so that two copies of his memoirs could be bound with it. We also know that some sick libertins had lewd books bound with the skin of women’s breasts—the nipples being the most sensational parts of it. Boys will be boys...
There is more than one morbid item in Harvard: “In 2022, Harvard released a report that identified more than 20,000 human remains in its various collections,” Le Monde** website reports. But this one’s been put to trial 90 years later, and found guilty of failing “to meet the level of ethical standards to which (we) subscribe," Harvard stated in an official statement. The story of this binding is indeed disturbing. Unlike James Allen, the French donator never gave her consent—and even if she had, it wouldn’t have been acceptable as she was mentally ill. There’s more about it: it’s her own doctor, Ludovic Bouland, who skinned a part of her body after she died. He then sent a note to Arsène Houssaye: "A book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering." But is this actual human skin? On April 4, Michael Sauers wrote on his blog The Travelin’ Librarian: “Baaaaaad news for fans of anthropodermic bibliopegy: Recent analyses of a book owned by the (Harvard) Library, long believed but never proven to have been bound in human skin, have conclusively established that the book was bound in sheepskin.” But our copy wasn’t included in those conclusions. On the contrary, Harvard stated that thorough analysis had confirmed that it was human skin. But now, what should they do with their loose piece of skin? Le Monde writes: “The university said it was consulting with French authorities "to determine a final respectful disposition of these human remains."
This can’t be bad news, given the circumstances. Yet, the question remains: why did they feel the urge to do such reparation after 90 years? And what’s the point? Do they believe that the soul of this poor woman had been kept in heaven’s custody because of that? Is it a moral stand—and a genuine one? If so, do they really think erasing all old evil deeds will make us any “better” people? Shouldn’t we face the past instead? Treating our ancestors like unruly children who deserve to be spanked according to our contemporary moral values is intellectual dishonesty, if not a pathetic attempt at appearing righteous. Unfortunately, destroying the symbols of collective failures is very common—the cancel culture is nothing new. In the preface of his interesting book, Houssaye quotes a maxim of La Rochefoucauld, author of Les Maximes (1664): both death and the sun are impossible to stare at—he should have added a disturbing past.
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 732. Early Announcement of Continental Congress' Declaration of Independence (1776) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 361. One of Ortelius' Most Decorative Maps in Full Contemporary Color (1585) Est. $9,500 - $12,000
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 55. Early Edition of One of the Most Important 16th Century Maps of the New World (1545) Est. $6,000 - $7,500
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 27. Fascinating Japanese Satirical Map of the World Published After WWI (1924) Est. $2,750 - $3,500
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 637. Complete Example of De Bry's Petits Voyages, Part VIII (1606) Est. $4,750 - $5,500
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 50. Extremely Rare Uncut Sheet from Sylvanus's 1511 Edition of Ptolemy's Geographia (1511) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 399. One of the Most Desired Maps of Ireland by John Speed (1610) Est. $2,750 - $3,500
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 689. Pictorial Map of Melbourne in the Style of MacDonald Gill (1934) Est. $900 - $1,100
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 652. Blaeu's Carte-a-Figures Map of Africa in Full Contemporary Color (1663) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 729. Hand-Colored Image of David Handing the Letter to Uriah (1518) Est. $1,000 - $1,300
Old World Auctions (Sept 11): Lot 533. Eight-Volume Set Recounting Travels of Anacharsis in Greece (1789) Est. $800 - $950
Dominic Winter Auctioneers September 11 Printed Books, Maps & Manuscripts, The Polydore Vergil bound for Queen Mary I
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Exquemelin (Alexandre Olivier). The History of the Bucaniers of America..., 4 parts in one, 3rd edition, 1704. £1,000-1,500
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Greenough (George Bellos). A Physical and Geological Map of England & Wales..., Geological Society, July 1865. £5,000-8,000
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Illuminated Psalter. Manuscript Psalter with Calendar, Flanders or North-East France, late 13th century. £7,000-10,000
Dominic Winter Auctioneers September 11 Printed Books, Maps & Manuscripts, The Polydore Vergil bound for Queen Mary I
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Book of Hours. Illuminated manuscript on vellum, Use of Rome, in Latin, Florence, c. 1470s. £3,000-5,000
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Henry VIII (King of England). Assertio septem sacramentorum adversus Martinum Lutherum, Antwerp: Michiel Hillen, 1522. £3,000-5,000
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Binding for Queen Mary I of England and Ireland. Polydori Vergilii Urbinatis Anglicae..., 1555. £20,000-30,000
Dominic Winter Auctioneers September 11 Printed Books, Maps & Manuscripts, The Polydore Vergil bound for Queen Mary I
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Llwyd (Humphrey). The Breviary of Britayne..., 1st edition in English, 1573. William Lambarde's copy. £2,000-3,000
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Embroidered Binding. The Whole Book of Psalmes..., Imprinted for the Company of Stationers, 1634. £700-1,000
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Astronomy Manuscript. [Shakerley, Jeremy (1626-c.1655). Tabulae Britannicae, the British tables…], late 17th c. £1,000-1,500
Dominic Winter Auctioneers September 11 Printed Books, Maps & Manuscripts, The Polydore Vergil bound for Queen Mary I
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Vellucent Art Nouveau Binding [Book of Common Prayer] by Herbert Granville Fell, 1900. £1,000-1,500
Dominic Winter, Sep. 11: Palladio (Andrea). The Architecture of A. Palladio; in Four Books, 2nd edition, 1721. £2,000-3,000
Sotheby’s 10 September 2024 The Shem Tov Bible
Koller Auctions Books & Autographs 18 September 2024
Koller, Sep. 18: Cowper, William. Anatomia corporum humanorum ab excellentissimis… Utrecht, 1750. CHF 25,000 to 40,000
Koller, Sep. 18: Bell, Thomas. A Monograph of the Testudinata. London [1836-1842]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000.
Koller, Sep. 18: Gould, John. A monograph of the Trochilidae, or family of humming-birds [and] Supplement completed after the authors death…, London [1849-]1861 and [1880-]1887. CHF 50,000 to 80,000.
Koller Auctions Books & Autographs 18 September 2024
Koller, Sep. 18: Gould, John. The birds of New Guinea and the adjacent Papuan Islands, including many new species recently discovered in Australia. CHF 50,000 to 80,000.
Koller, Sep. 18: Levaillant, François. Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers, suivie de celle des toucans et des barbus. Paris [1801-]1806. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
Koller, Sep. 18: Pfinzing, Melchior. Die geverlicheiten und einsteils der geschichten des loblichen streytparen…, Nürnberg, 1517. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: HAMILTON, Sir William - Campi Phlegraei. Napoli: 1779. € 50,000 - 80,000
Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: KIRCHER, Athanasius - Turris Babel. Amsterdam: 1679. € 3,000 - 5,000
Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: EDWARDS, George.London - Gleanings of Natural History. Londra: 1758-1764. € 7,000 - 10,000
Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: HEVELIUS, Johannes - Cometographia. Danzica: 1668. € 20,000 - 30,000
Il Ponte, Sep. 24-25: KUPKA, Frantisek - Quatre histoires de blanc et noir. Parigi: 1926. € 10,000 - 15,000