Antoine le Blanc
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Antoine le Blanc was a 19th Century murderer and a French immigrant to the United States.
In 1833, in exchange for chopping wood and feeding hogs, le Blanc was allowed to live in the small, dank basement of the Morristown, New Jersey farmhouse of the Judge Samuel Sayres family. However, he was unpaid. After two weeks of taking orders and hard work, he became angry and murdered the farmer, wife, and a servant, who may have been a slave. He proceeded to ransack the house for valuables.
After the crime was discovered le Blanc was tracked down, captured and tried. The local judge ordered him hanged and dissected. le Blanc was hanged for his crime before over ten thousand witnesses. After his death, his skin was "dissected" to be made into wallets, purses, lampshades, and book jackets. His face was made into a plaster mask. The death mask and some other products eventually passed to Carl Scherzer, a collector of 19th century artifacts.
