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A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin
by Megan Rosenbloom
On bookshelves around the world, surrounded by ordinary books bound in paper and leather, rest other volumes of a distinctly strange and grisly sort: those bound in human skin. Would you know one if you held it in your hand?
In Dark Archives, Megan Rosenbloom seeks out the historic and scientific truths behind anthropodermic bibliopegy―the practice of binding books in this most intimate covering. Dozens of such books live on in the world's most famous libraries and museums. Dark Archives exhumes their origins and brings to life the doctors, murderers, and indigents whose lives are sewn together in this disquieting collection. Along the way, Rosenbloom tells the story of how her team of scientists, curators, and librarians test rumored anthropodermic books, untangling the myths around their creation and reckoning with the ethics of their custodianship.
A librarian and journalist, Rosenbloom is a member of The Order of the Good Death and a cofounder of their Death Salon, a community that encourages conversations, scholarship, and art about mortality and mourning. In Dark Archives―captivating and macabre in all the right ways―she has crafted a narrative that is equal parts detective work, academic intrigue, history, and medical curiosity: a book as rare and thrilling as its subject.
"[Rosenbloom's] investigation into the past reveals much about the history of medicine ... Wide-ranging, engagingly written, and unusual ... [Dark Archives] will fascinate those interested in a new angle from which to consider what it means to be human and what our responsibilities are to other people ... Essential." ―Library Journal (starred review)
"Fascinating ... Rosenbloom's conversational tone and obvious excitement at the thrill of the chase counterbalances the macabre nature of her subject ... Lighter moments, such as a visit to an artisanal tanning facility that results in the destruction of Rosenbloom's Keds, make her obsession with the sometimes gruesome stories behind these books relatable. This unique and well-researched account shines an intriguing light on a hidden corner of the rare books world." ―Publishers Weekly
"This intriguing intersection of history, science, and the macabre stems from Rosenbloom's work as a researcher for The Anthropodermic Book Project, a team dedicated to investigating books bound in human skin. She digs deep into the origin story of these morbid artifacts ... A unique conversation about consent, medical ethics, and legalities ... Rosenbloom's passion for the topic is infused in each page, making for a captivating read." ―Booklist
This information about Dark Archives was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Megan Rosenbloom is a librarian with a research interest in the history of medicine and rare books. Formerly a medical librarian and journalist, she is now the collection strategies librarian at UCLA Library in Los Angeles. She is also the president of the Southern California Society for the History of Medicine. She is a member of the Anthropodermic Book Project, a multidisciplinary team scientifically testing alleged human skin books around the world to verify their human origin. A proponent of the death-positive movement, she was also the cofounder and director of Death Salon, the events arm of the Order of the Good Death.
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