This is the first study to address the history of the papyrological practice of disassembling mummy and other types of cartonnage to retrieve papyrus manuscripts hidden within. Through the discussion of cases dating from the nineteenth century to the contemporary, it argues that the extraction of papyri from cartonnage has fulfilled different aims: sourcing texts dating to the Ptolemaic period, creating excitement for new discoveries and in some cases offering a convenient provenance narrative for undocumented or illegally sourced papyri. The practice remains highly problematic in various respects and more attention should be paid to the curatorial, ethical and legal issues involved.