The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-07
USES OF HUMAN SKIN.
A NEW FAD THAT PHYSICIANS OF
GOTHAM AFFECT.

It is Cured and Tanned and Made Up
Into Purses, Spectacle and Card
Cases-The Newest Craze for a Me-
mento of VilIians-A Business That
is Not Likely to be Very Popular.
Copyright 1892
NEW YORK, June lit was only a few
nights ago that party of men about town
were chatting in the cafe of an uptown
hotel. The ordinary topics of conversation
had seemingly become exhausted, when one
of the mea of business took from his vest
pocket what looked like a square piece Of
soft leather.
Carried that a good many years." he
said ssntentiously.
"You must have had very little to put
in your pockets" remarked one young
man.
Goat skin guess" suggested another.
mo, gentlemen" was the response, 'syou
are both wrong. [ didn't carry it because
my pockets were empty, and it isn't goat
skin. That piece of skin came from hui
man body, and the man who once wore it
was hanged in the TombS not so many years
| ago."
Several of the group examined the piece
rushing to the bar swallowed drink of
brandy aud'was seen no more.
II got that" continued the owner of this
queer pocket piece-''Our no matter where
got it. At any rate carry it with me at
all times. What's more, there are a num-
Der of companion pieces to it drifting
around New York. One of them is carried
by society lady who takes up a good deal
of space in the newspapers"
"Well, all I've got to say,n remarked one
of the group, us that you've deuced queer
taste don't envy you your pocket piece
1t suggests cannibalism to mel"
But the eccentric man only laughed, and
lighting fresh cigar drifted out.
A little Investigation in that part of New
York city that is locally known as the
Swamp" brought out the fact vouched
for by reliable persons that the young man
referred to is but one of quite a large class.
In the Swamp" on the lower east side of
New York is conferred the hide and leather
business of the city, and some very solid
citizens do business there and are tc be met
any afternoon at the Hide and Leather
club where their decidedly odorous calling
is forgotten over sparkling wine and other
good things.
1t was one of these solid citizens who is
responsible for the statement that the tan
ming of portions of the human skin is by
no means uncommon. The solid citizen
run to this sort of business. but that every
one in the hide and leather industry knew
| that it was done, and quite extensiv 9ly, too.
| What this solid citizen said was corrobo-
rated by other solid citizens in the samc
business. One of them said that this par
| ticular line of BUSINESS would never become
| very extensive owing to the fact that the
human skin, unlike that of an animal, is
not susceptible of successful treatment by
tho tanners. Many experiments in this
| line have been made but with little success
II don't know what affinity there is De-
tween a human being and walrus,n said
the dresser of skins, "but it is peculiar
| fact that the only animal whose skin when
| dressed is like the skin of man is a walrus
Between the skin of this animal and that of
man there is little or no difference. Both
have the same characteristics.
| The human skin when tanned and
| dressed" said the expert, continuing upon
his somewhat remarkable subject, in a mat
ter of, fact way, ''can be put to but small
number of uses. 1t cannot be used as the
| skin of an animal can be. You see the hui
man skin is porous. 1t cannot be used
where it will come into contact with water.
But you can make pocketbooks, spectacle
cases, and things of that kind out of it,"
Those affecting this queer fad are chiefly
surgeons and physicians. With them,
| however, it is not altogether a fad, but a
| l1ldtOSI VI OdoAuSSo. 1lGuJ DuySlCldilS use
bags made of human skin to hold their
more delicate instruments, and say it is the
| best material from which such an article
can be made. At least two of New York's
coroners, according to one of the workers
in hides, have these cases, and many sur
geons also use them. In one case the wife
of a well-known surgeon has affected the
custom too. She has particularly hand
some purse which she never tires of show
ing to her friends. She does not tell all of
them, however, that it was made from the
skin of human being who came under her
husbands scalpel. But it was, just the
same, and this particular fair dame is not
the only one who carries purse of this re-
markable material.
Most of the young surgeons in our hos
pitfalls affect It, Some very romantic cases
come under their notice from time to time.
cases the characters of which the public has
little idea. Some Of these young men tell
queer stories that are suggested by these
CHASTITY keepsakes, stories that recall some
of those told by Gaboriau, and that are re-
plete with romance or more often with
tragedy. j. WILSON JOHNSON.