A book thought to be 300 years old and covered in human skin has be found lying in a street in Leeds (UK). West Yorkshire Police believe it was probably dumped following a burglary, and have appealed to anyone who may be able to help identify the owners of the item!
Wrapping books in human skin seems to have been a common, if a little gruesome pastime a few hundred years agon. The bizarre practice know as anthropodermic bibliopegy was sometimes used in the 18th and 19th century to cover the accounts of murder trials, the skin used being that of the killer – nasty!
Source: Yahoo, Ancient Book May Be Covered in Human Skin.
A 1852 copy of The Poetical Works of John Milton, which is bound in human skin, is about to go on display at a crime and punishment exhibition in Exeter.