The book, “Des Destinées de L’âme,” meaning “Destinies of the Soul,” was written by Arsène Houssaye, a French novelist and poet, in the early 1880s.

Harvard University announced it would remove a binding made of the skin of a deceased woman from the 19th-century book “Des Destinées de l’Ame,” which they house in their library.

A portrait of author Arsène Houssaye circa 1878. (Public domain) The French book, written by Arsène Houssaye and published in 1879, is a study on the soul and life after death, Harvard Library ...

Harvard University says it has removed human skin from the binding of a 19th century book about the afterlife that has been in its collections since the 1930s.

Harvard says it's removed human skin from binding of 19th century book. In its statement, Harvard said the library noted several ways in which its stewardship practices failed to meet its ethical ...