Megan Rosenbloom – Dark Archives
January 14, 2021
On this episode of Inquiry, we will have a serious discussion about anthropodermic books, volumes bound in human skin. Our guest is MEGAN ROSENBLOOM. She is a librarian with a research interest in the history of medicine and rare books. She also works for the Anthropodermic Book Project. Moving beyond the initial macabre titillation of the subject, these books raise important questions about whether they belong in museum and library collections. A number of these books were also owned and prepared by medical doctors. How could doctors bound a book with the skin of one of their patients? Rosenbloom’s new book is titled: DARK ARCHIVES: A LIBRARIANS’ INVESTIGATION INTO THE SCIENCE AND HISTORY OF BOOKS BOUND IN HUMAN SKIN.
