Q and A

Q: What do Ed Gein, the Nazi’s, the French and Peter Greenaway have in common?

A: Things made with human skin.

The Nazi’s were infamous for many things that we all know about (except that Northwestern Prof), one of which was their medical experiments. The experiments were inhuman and horrific. In junior high I was finding out about the things the Nazi’s did in their experiments. Since I’ve always had a predilection for things that disturb others I was intrigued. Part of me was just plain stunned to know that someone could perform these experiments on live, breathing humans, the other part of me couldn’t figure out who would come up with the ideas for these experiments. Over the years I have found that some of the things I heard about, were exaggerations, probably turned into urban myths after years of stories being passed on and on. Based on a fact for sure, but maybe a little embellishment was added (as if you need to embellish any of the facts to make them any more sensational or horrifing). One of these is the rumor that the Nazi’s made books, lampshades and gloves out of human skin. There are no examples of any of these items. I know that just because we don’t have a physical piece of evidence in front of us doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, but, I guess I just find it hard to believe with all the dumb ass Neo Nazi’s, treasure hunters and EBay that not one item would has found it’s way into the public eye. I just don't think everything could have been disposed of, burned with Hitler and Ava or wisked away to be hidden. Someone would have wanted to make money off of this, especially in the last few years. So, for now I must side with the idea that these particular actions didn't happen and that Ilsa the She Wolf of the SS might now be more myth than fact.

Ed Gein, again with the lampshades and wearable items. Ed continues to be one of the most referenced serial killers in American history. He was used as the bases for Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, and his exploits have spawned comics, books and trading cards. Ed was crazy, really crazy, he had a bizarre relationship with his mother and when she died he went bat-shit crazy. What made him so different (at the time) was what he did with them. He made bowls from their skulls, tanned their skin, made lampshades and “clothing” type items. I’m really summarizing here, but suffice to say the man had some crazy ideas for arts and crafts. The cops found all his stuff in his house and surrounding farm, big and small. Ed was sent away for many years and died in the loony bin.

Peter Greenaway, was one of the big “art house” film directors when I was in college. Up until his film The Pillow Book I really liked his films. Yet, The Pillow Book is what brings him into my thought right now. The Pillow Book has at its core a book that was made from a dead lovers skin. On a side note, it was the ever-hot Ewan McGregor that was the lover and eventually the book. This was the first big fuss to focus on Ewan's nakedness. There was a lot of fuss and noise because of his full frontal. Peter had a flare for the garish and shocking in both subject and imagery. It was no surprise that the director of The Cook, the Thief, his Wife & Her Lover would move on to The Pillow Book eventually (canabalism to skinning). Two more side notes, first, after seeing Drowning By Numbers my roommate and I named our sole plant (a fern) Smut, after the young boy in the film. Seriously, his name was Smut. Second, great costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier were also a feature in The Cook, the Thief, his Wife & Her Lover.

And last finally, the French. During the 18th and/or 19th centuries the French were known to bind books in human skin. The practice known as anthropodermic bibliopegy was mostly accounts of murder trials or anatomy books. After the trial and conviction (I hope) the accounts were written and bound in the skin of the killer. The anatomy books were bound in the skin of the cadaver that aided in the gathering of the information (dissection).

What started this all…

Reports surfaced in London of a book that was found discarded in the streets of West Yorkshire. The text is hand written, very old (1700’s), and French. Authorities believed that it may have been taken in a burglary and dumped on the street. Whether or not it was dumped because it was thought to be a worthless foreign book or because they figured out it was human skin is not known or speculated on.

Officers were unable (or not willing) to comment on the books subject manner or answer further questions. They did post the photos in hopes of identifying the owner so they may return the book. My questions is this, if I you had a book bound in human skin wouldn't you keep better track of it? If your home had been robbed wouldn't you notice and call someone about that? So, I'm thinking there is more to this puzzle than meets the eye.