The Yellowstone journal., 1894-12-04
A BOOKS CLOTHING.
BINDINGS MADE FROM THE SKIN Or
HUMAN BEINGS.

Thomas CarIyie's Grun Speech at the Din
ner Party-A Deck of Cards Made From
the skin Of Indians-The Troublesome
"Boolxworms" and Their Ravages.
"To be strong backed and neat
Sound says Charles Lamb, is the dc
sideratum of a volume Magnificence
comes after" In spite, however, of this
axiom of the gentle Ella, not few of
this well thpmbed, torn and dogs cared
favorites turned their backs to the spec
:ator, coverless. Upon a goodly row of
'cyclopedias and books which are no
,ks the jealous essayist burst forth.
confess that it moves my spleen tc
&. these things in books clothing
;rched upon shelves, like false saints,
.surpers of true shrines, intruders into
the sanctuary, << set out in an ar.
ray of Russia or Marocco, when q tithe,
of that good leather would comfortably
reclothe my shivering folios, would
renovate Paracelsus himself and en-
able old Raymund Lully to look like
himself in the world. never see these
impostors but long to strip them TO
warm my ragged veterans in their
spoils."
OF curios in the way of binding therc
exist in England several examples. In
the Exeter museum there is to be found
volume bound in the skin of George
Cudmore, who was executed in 1880 for
poisoning his wife. In the library of
Bury st. Ednunds there is a Life of
Corder," a murderer, bound in piece
of his own skin. In the library of Mex
borough House there were formerly two
books bound in the skin of Mary Bate.
man, the Yorkshire witcn who was
hanged early in this century.
In 1921 a man named Norwood suf
der of girl, and the following trades
mans account of a book in the infirmary
library explains itself:
Bristol, June, 1928. - Richard
Smith, ESQ.,, DIR. to H. H. Essex. To
binding in the skin of John Norwood a
variety of papers relating TO him, 81
l0s., the same being lettered in Latin on
each side of the book The True Skin of
John Norwood
Whether the skins of hardened Grim
inals are more easily curried and dressed
than those of ordinary mortals / must
confess am unable to judge.
1t was at a dinner party that Thomas
Carlyle gave vent to his opinion as to
binding books with human skins. The
dyspeptic sage had SO far sat in morose
silence. An unpleasant feeling hung
over the party, many of whom had been
specially invited to hear his erratic
views. A genial old gentleman was en-
deavoring to infuse little warmth into
the assemblage by playfully remarking
to a young political enthusiast who sat
beside him, THE British people can af
ford to laugh at theories.
This remark woke up Carlyle, and
speaking for the first and only time
during the evening he observed in his
usual i'll bred way: ''Sir, the French
nobility of 100 years ago said they could
afford to laugh at theories. Then came
a man who wrote a book called The
Social Contract The man was called
Jean Jacques Rousseau, and his book
was theory and nothing but a theory.
The mobiles could laugh at this theory,
but their skins went to bind the second
edition of this book. "
Ii is a matter of fact that during the
horrors of the French revolution tanner
les were established in various parts Ct
France where the skins of the victims Of
the guillotine We're tanned, and many Of
these were used to bind books on account
of the fine grained surface exhibited aft
or being curried-
At the Chicago exhibition one of the
curious exhibits was pack of playing
cards which had been manufactured
from the skin of some captured Indians.
| remember to have seen at an old curl
osity shop on New Oxford street only a
few years ago a piece of hard, dry,
tough, leathery skin, which, | was as
sured, was the tanned hide of a Maori
The tattoo marks were plainly visible
ON its surface, and ON examining il with
powerful glass the grain of the human
skin was clearly shown.
In speaking of the binding of books
one cannot refrain from alluding in pass
ing to the enemies of books-enemies
that usually make their depredations
upon bindings. These insects. popularly
.
known as bookworms, are found in pa
per, leather and parchment. The larvae
of Crambus pinguinalis will establish
themselves upon the binding of book,
and spinning robe will do it little in.
jury. A mite-Acarus eruditus-eats
the paste that fastens the paper over the
edges of the binding and so loosens it
The caterpillar of another little moth
takes its station in damp, old books be.
tween the leaves and there commits
great ravages. Burns has addressed to
these bookworms an epigram which be-
trays the cynical humor of the poet:
Through and through the inspired leaves
We maggots make your windings;
But. OH, respect his lordship's tasto
Aad spare his golden bindings!
The little borin; wood beetle will also
attack books and has been known tc
penetrate through several volumes. An
instance is mentioned of 81 folio volumes