Following his execution, Corder’s body was publicly dissected – a fate reserved for the most heinous criminals back then. (Don’t tell Donald Trump, or we may seen another Executive Order dashed off…)
We publishing professionals like to view our craft as a genteel pursuit, focused on the creation and dissemination of knowledge, entertainment, and misinformation disguised as free speech.
When things get dark and gory, scary and bloody, we hide behind the fact that it’s just words and pictures on a page, whether fiction or true story. But sometimes, the book we hold in our hand may itself be the gory story. Because history reveals darker chapters where the act of bookbinding itself carried macabre undertones.
The rediscovery of a second book bound in human skin at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Suffolk, England, offers a chilling glimpse into the practice of anthropodermic bibliopegy. That’s the binding of books in human hide, for those who flunked gobbledygook at school.
The Red Barn Murder and Its Literary Aftermath
In 1828, William Corder was convicted and executed for the murder of his lover, Maria Marten, in a crime that gripped England and became known as the Red Barn Murder.
Following his execution, Corder’s body was publicly dissected – a fate reserved for the most heinous criminals back then. (Don’t tell Donald Trump, or we may seen another Executive Order dashed off…)
In a grim twist, part of his (Corder’s not Trump’s) skin was used to bind copies of a book documenting his trial, titled An Authentic and Faithful History of the Mysterious Murder of Maria Marten.
One such book, fully bound in Corder’s skin, has been on display at Moyse’s Hall Museum since 1933. Last year, during a routine catalogue review, museum staff rediscovered a second copy, which uses patches of skin on its spine and corners. Both volumes are now exhibited alongside other artefacts of historical justice, such as a late 18th-century gibbet cage.
It is not explained why a “routine catalogue review only happens at the museum every ninety years or so.
Judging a Book by its Cover
The binding of books in human skin, known as anthropodermic bibliopegy, was not unique to Corder’s case. Historically, this practice was often associated with the punishment of criminals or the preservation of medical specimens. A book bound in the skin of murderer William Burke is displayed at the Surgeons’ Hall Museum in Edinburgh.
Across the pond, Harvard University once held a 19th-century French book, Des destinées de l’âme, bound in the skin of a female hospital patient. Harvard removed the artefact due to ethical concerns, but Moyse’s Hall Museum has chosen to retain the Corder volumes, viewing them as entry points for confronting uncomfortable aspects of history and serve as tools for understanding the violent and performative nature of historical justice.
For publishing professionals, these artefacts challenge the notion of books as purely intellectual objects. They remind us that the physicality of publishing – its materials and methods – can carry profound cultural and ethical implications.
For images of the books, had over to ZME Science.
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.
