Ancient Book May Be Covered In Human Skin

LONDON(AP) A 300-year-old book that appears to be bound in human skin has been found in northern England, police said Saturday.

The macabre discovery was made on a central street in Leeds, and officers said the ledger may have been dumped following a burglary.

Detectives were trying to trace its rightful owner and believe it may have been taken from a dwelling in the area.

Much of the text is in French, and it was not uncommon around the time of the French Revolution for books to be covered in human skin.

The practice, known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, was sometimes used in the 18th and 19th centuries when accounts of murder trials were bound in the killer's skin.

Anatomy books also were sometimes bound in the skin of a dissected cadaver. In World War II, Nazis were accused of using the skin from Holocaust victims to bind books.

In a brief statement, West Yorkshire police said the ledger, which contained handwriting in black ink, appears to date back to the 1700s, and they appealed to anyone who may be able to help identify the owners of the item to contact authorities.

West Yorkshire Police put two photographs of the book on their Web site, but officers were unable on Saturday to answer any questions about it, including the book's subject matter.

I wonder how they keep it from decaying.

I'll take any and all 300 year old books no matter what they are bound in.

Yeh I was wondering how it didnt decay either.

OMG Its the Necronomicon!
Bound in Human Skin and Inked in Blood......(if you haven't see Evil Dead 1 or 2 or Army of Darkness you would have no idea what I am talking about).

Don't see why it would decay really, any book bound in leather withstands quite a long time and why would human skin be treated any differently in this use from animal skin?

But yeah, the Necronomicon was the first thing that sprung to my mind as well. They need to call Bruce Campbell to take care of it :grin:

"Who gets the chainsaw and shotgun?"

Its a Boomstick! lol

Every time I think of those movies I remember the scene in the first one where that chick gets a pencil into her ankle. Makes me cringe just thinking about it lol.

*still snickering from the dreadfull cheesy line in 3rd film*

'i got a bone to pick with you'

:grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin:

For me it was always the maniacal cackling in the first two films that creeped me out... that whole Cthulhu-esque sense of madness.

Army of Darkness is fun sure but it was a bit of a disappointment considering how creepy the first two were and this one was a pure comedy. Ah well, good stuff nonetheless.