I'm working on those "What I learned in Design School" posts, but first here is something related. It's an article that talks about books bound in human skin (grokked from Matt Staggs). Now that's a rarity I'm not sure I'd want to collect.
How does that relate? Well, back in the late 90s there was a paper mill (in Hungary if memory serves) that produced a paper whose selling point was that it had the texture of human skin (and it was pretty damn close). We had a sample book. Unfortunately I no longer work there and I couldn't get an extra copy of the book for myself (it was pretty damn expensive paper). I remember my first reaction with was an unequivocal, "Ew!" I was assured that the paper had better ink representation qualities than actual skin. (and if you think that's ultimately sick, I'll remind you that vellum is sheep skin, and many other animals have been used in the book making business)
And then, as a story bone (and now you'll know where the horror side comes out) there is also the practice, however limited, that when a loved one dies, you can remove, tan, and display their skin in a frame (warning, highly illegal in some jurisdictions). There's a subcult that does this. Yes, I've seen samples in person (I used to draw flash in school, hell, I've done tattoo art for other designs lately, and I used to go to some tattoo festivals, and no, I don't have one). They're not ultimately as creepy as you may think (YMMV). And some of them are quite beautiful. Not that I would collect them myself (typically held by family members).
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