The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-08-09
A BOOKS CLOTHING.
BINDINGS MADE FROM THE SKIN or
HUMAN BEINGS.

Thomas Carlyles GruR Speech m& the Din
i ner Party-A Deck Of Cards Made Fror
the skin or Indians The Tronhacsonn
Il "Tsookworms" and Their Tavasss.
i ITO be strong backed and nea
bound, " says Charles Lamb, ii the de
sideratum Of volume. Magnificenc
comes after. /" In spite, howeyer, of thi
axiom Of the gentle Ella, not few d
this well thunibed, torn and do9's eares
favorites turned their backs to the spec
tator, coverless. Upon Ruodly row d
encyclopedias and books whiCh are n,
books the Jealous essayist burst forth
sIconfess that it moves my spleen i,
9ee these things in books' clothine
perched upon shelves, Lire false saints,
usurpers OF true shrines, intruders int
the sanctuary, y see out Al an ar.
ray Of Russia or Marocco when tithe
OF that good leather would comfortably
reclothe my shivaring folios. would
renovate Paracelsus himself and en-.
able old Raymund Lully to look like
himself In the world. Inever see these
impostCes but i long TO strip them ia
warm my ragged veterans In their
spoils. =
OF curios In the way Of binding there
exist IN England several examples. In
the Exeter museum there il TO ba found
a5voluTne bound in the akin Of George
Cudmore, who was executed In 1880 for
poisoning his wife In the librafy Of
Bury DC. Edmunds there IL Life of
Corder, " q murderer. bound in d piece
OF his own akin. In the libraty OF Mex-
borough House there were formerly two
books bound in the akin of Mary Bate
man, the Yorkshire witch who was
hanged early In this century.
In 1891 man named Norwood suf-
fered the extreme penalty for the muir
der of girl, and the following trades
mans account Of book In the infirmary
library explains itself:
Bristol, june, 1928, - Richard
Smith, ESQ, DIR. TO FL H. Essex To
binding in the akin Of John Norwood o
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. I"
Whether the skins of hardened Grim
inals are more easily curried and dressed
than those Of ordinary moEtals must
confess ] am unable to judge
Il Was at . dinner party that Thomas
Carlyle gave vent to his opinion dc to
binding books with human glxina The
dyspeptio sage had so far sat a. raorose
silence. An unpleasant feeling hung
over the party, many OF whom HID been
specially invited to hear his efratic
views A genial old gentleman was en-
deasoring 70 infuse little warmth into
the assemblage by playfnlly renaarkina
to young political enthusiast Who sat
beside him, The British people can af-
ford to laugh at theories. q
This remark woke mp Carlyle. and
speaking for this flrss and only time
during the evening he observed ~ his
usual Ill bred wsay: ssSfr. the French
nobility Of 100 yeaEs ago said tlley o0ula
a1sord 70 laneh ut theories. Tksn ca,sas
a man who wrote d book called sHhs
Social Contract. The man was CaIlsd
Jean Jacques Rousseau, and his book
waS q theory and nothing but d theory.
Rhe mobiles could laugh at this trsn4g.
but their Skins went 10 bind the seOesssf
edition OF this book. -
It is q matter OF fact tiat during the |
horTuts Of the French revolution tanner
les were astablished iii various parts of |
France where the sirins1O OF the victims al |
Bhe guiilotine were tanned, and riarlyof |
Ihese were used 10 bind bookson account /
IT the iine' grained surface exhibited ast /
u being curried
At the Chicago exhibition one of the
curious exhibits was pack OF playing /
ards which had been manufactured \
rom the skin of some captured Indians.
remember TO have seen at an old curl
'sfty shop on New Oxford street only d L
ew years ago q piece Of hard, dry, H
ough leathery skin, which, was a.
ured, was the tanned hide of Maori
The tattoo marks were plainly visible
u it's surface, and ON examining ii with
powerful glass the grain OF the human
kin was clearly shown.
In speaking Of the binding OF books
ne cannot refrain from alluding In PASS
lAeS ~ AA&0 GAsx1AAAAI5 IN bIbA&<r-- -Ctlt14WkSN II
hat usually make their depredations
pom bindings. These insects, popularly
n0wn as bookworms, are found In IA
q, leather and parchment. The Larvae
Crambus pinguinalis viii establiah Il
themselves upon the binding Of book
nd spinning q robe will do it little in
nry. A mite-Acarus eruditus leafs
be paste that fagtsns the paper over the
dyes 0f the binding and 20 loosens I'll
he caterpillar of another little moth
sles ifs statiDn Id damp. old books b.
ween the leaves and there commits
reat ravages. Burns has addressed 70
hese bookwOr1ns an epigram which BE-.
rays the cynical humor OF the poet:
Through and through the inspired leaves
Ye magEUts make your windings.
But nh, respect his loriships tasfn
And spare his golden bindingsg Is
The little boring wood beetle will also
ttaCk books and has been known to /
anetrnte through several volumes An
is mentioned Of 27 folio volumes
cling perforated In o straight line by
% Same insect in such b manner TINT
y passing . cord through the perfect IL