# Could I legally will my corpse skin to be turned into leather? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874 "2013-11-14T01:08:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/1 "2013-11-14T01:08:26Z")
Googling for human leather reveals a couple of hoax sites and some nazi era information but nothing especially trustworthy. If I wanted my skin to be turned into leather after I die and be used to make commemorative items, would this be against any US law? edit: Do NOT need answers fast. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/2 "2013-11-14T01:33:32Z")
Well, you can certainly put it in your will. You can put anything you like in your will. But that raises two other questions. 1. Is it legal to treat human remains in this way? And that, obviously, is going to depend on the law of the place where you die. Lots of places have laws governing the disposal of human remains, and they may not accommodate curing and tanning. 2. If it is legal, can you compel your executors to dispose of your remains in this way, i.e. is your will enforceable in this regard? Again, this is going to depend on the law of the place where all this happens. But a fairly common legal stance is that there is no property in a human body, and it does not form part of your estate. Your executors have a responsibilty to arrange seemly and lawful disposal, and they can use the resources of your estate for this purpose (e.g. by paying to have you buried or cremated) but your wishes as to _how_ you would like your remains disposed of are just that; wishes. The final decision will not be yours but will be your executors’. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/3 "2013-11-14T02:49:56Z")
Fred would do it. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/4 "2013-11-14T04:46:02Z")
Some history of skin as leather - > **[Anthropodermic bibliopegy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropodermic_bibliopegy)** > > Anthropodermic bibliopegy is the practice of binding books in human skin. As of April 2022\[update\], The Anthropodermic Book Project has examined 31 out of 50 books in public institutions supposed to have anthropodermic bindings, of which 18 have been confirmed as human and 13 have been demonstrated to be animal leather instead. > Bibliopegy (/ˌbɪbliˈɒpɪdʒi/ BIB-lee-OP-i-jee) is a rare\[a\] synonym for 'bookbinding'. It combines the Ancient Greek βιβλίον (biblion, "book") and πηγία (pegia, from pegny... ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/5 "2013-11-14T14:09:24Z")
Here’s the [story](http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/boston-athenaeum) of a guy who wrote his memoirs while on death row, then requested his skin be used to bind it and the book be _given to one of his robbery victims_. The family donated it to the Boston Athenaeum decades later. ---
**Author:** ![Weezerwookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9dc877/32.png) [@Weezerwookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weezerwookie)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/6 "2023-10-20T06:08:12Z")
Death penalty for a robbery? Good lord. Musta been in Texas lol ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/7 "2023-10-20T06:31:06Z")
It’s a much smaller version of what you want, but this company does post mortem preservation and framing of tattoos: [How one Ohio company is preserving human tattoos](https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2023/08/10/how-one-ohio-company-is-preserving-human-tattoos-#:~:text=Save%20My%20Ink%20Forever%20extracts,the%20world%20to%20do%20this). ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/8 "2023-10-20T06:45:50Z")
Ummm. I’ve turned animal skins into leather. I could, probably not would, help you out. Unless, we’re talking some real money. I mean _real_ money. And maybe a kinda legal waiver, or some such device. I doubt it’s legal, for real. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/9 "2023-10-20T07:09:17Z")
Seems to be doable in Australia, to the point that one bloke is [planning for his fully tattooed skin to go to the National Gallery of Australia](https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/technology/science/geoff-ostling-will-have-his-skin-removed-and-sent-to-the-national-museum-of-australia-after-he-dies/news-story/3ee78fd90064dce5b159d65195e46f89). I heard about this in 2015, from when the article dates. From a quick check Geoff Ostling seems to still be alive and kicking, so the offer has not been taken up … yet. There’s a lot of concern about museum collections of human remains, and their repatriation is being strongly pushed by (usually) indigenous descendants. A lot of the disquiet boils down to how power was exercised at the point of a gun in colonial settings and the complete absence of any dignity or consent, let alone it being informed. So, if a well-educated, older white man who knows all the pros and cons, gives his informed consent to having his skin removed, tanned and displayed, then unless there is a public health issue, its hard to see a moral basis for refusal. Also, the Australian love-song ‘Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport’ features the lines: _Tan me hide when I’d dead, Fred,_ _Tan me hide when I’m dead_ _So we tanned his hide when he died, Clyde_ _And that’s it hanging on the shed!._ ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/10 "2023-10-20T13:07:48Z")
My 10 year old mistake. He was in prison in Massachusetts, but not on death row. He died of tuberculosis while incarcerated in the 1800s. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-i-legally-will-my-corpse-skin-to-be-turned-into-leather/673874/11 "2023-11-04T00:06:42Z")
A book about books bound in human skin leather is the featured article on Wikipedia’s front page today: > **[Dark Archives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Archives)** > > Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin is a 2020 non-fiction book by the medical librarian and death-positive advocate Megan Rosenbloom. Dealing with anthropodermic bibliopegy, the binding of books in human skin, it expounds upon Rosenbloom's research on such books and their historical, ethical, and cultural implications. > The book focuses on the relationship between anthropodermic bibliopegy and the history of medicine; most confirm... The book is written by Megan Rosenbloom, who appears sympathetic to the preservation of such books. On the other side of the debate is Paul Needham, who argues that when such books are found, the leather should be buried. > **[Megan Rosenbloom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Rosenbloom)** > > Megan Curran Rosenbloom (born 1981) is an American medical librarian and expert on anthropodermic bibliopegy, the practice of binding books in human skin. She is a team member of the Anthropodermic Book Project, a group which scientifically tests skin-bound books to determine if their origins are human. Rosenbloom is the author of Dark Archives, a 2020 non-fiction book on the history, provenance, and myths about books bound in human skin. > In 2004, Rosenbloom earned a bachelor of arts degree in... > **[Paul Needham (librarian)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Needham_(librarian))** > > Paul Needham (born 1943) is an American academic librarian. From 1998 to 2020, he worked at the Scheide Library at Princeton University. A Guggenheim Fellow and Bibliographical Society Gold Medallist, Needham has delivered the Sandars Readership in Bibliography at the University of Cambridge, the A. S. W. Rosenbach Lectures in Bibliography at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Lyell Lectures at the University of Oxford. His focus is on incunabula, the earliest printed books in Europe. > In...