Harvard removes human skin used as binding for 1880s book, apologizes

Harvard Library announced that it has removed human skin that was used to bind a book from the 1880s.

The copy of Arsène Houssaye’s "Des destinées de l’âme" was found in the Houghton Library and has been part of the university's collections since 1934, according to a news release from the university.

The removal follows a 2022 report from the Harvard University Steering Committee that discussed how human remains are used in university museum collections.

"After careful study, stakeholder engagement, and consideration, 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," the university said.

Who did the remains belong to?

Without consent, French physician Dr. Ludovic Bouland bound the book with skin he took from the body of a deceased female patient at the hospital where he worked. The bibliophile was born in 1839 and died in 1933, according to Harvard.

The copy joined the library's collections the year after his death after being placed on deposit by American diplomat and businessman John B. Stetson, Jr. A Harvard alum, the copy was donated to the library by his widow Ruby F. Stetson in 1954, two years after his death.

When did university confirm human remains?

The university confirmed that the book's binding was made out of human remains in 2014, according to Tom Hyry, associate university librarian for Archives and Special Collections.

In a Q&A released by the school , he said Harvard will continue to address human remains in its collections as part of a long term university project.

"We apologize on behalf of Harvard Library for past failures in our stewardship of the book that further objectified and compromised the dignity of the human being at the center," Hyry said. "We are determined to move forward with care, sensitivity, and ethical responsibility and are committed to best practices in the field, including reflection and correcting historical errors."

Why was skin used to bind Harvard book

Published in 1879, "Des destinées de l’âme" was a "meditation on the soul and life after death," Hyry said.

Bouland left a handwritten note in the volume that said "a book about the human soul deserved to have a human covering."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harvard removes human skin used as binding for 1880s book, apologizes