The Harvard Library removes skin that covered a book in its collection. A French doctor "bound the book with skin that he took without consent from the body of a deceased patient," according to a statement from the prestigious university's library.
The book has been part of the Harvard Library collection since 1934, deposited by John B. Stetson Jr. The removal was prompted by a library review following a Harvard University report on human remains in its museum collections. The library will conduct additional research on the book, Bouland and the anonymous patient.