Bruce R. Levy

Nevada City, California
Bruce R. Levy was born in New York City in 1950. He worked for four years with Max Adjarian, former restorer at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Levy owned and operated the Da Vinci Bindery for eight years, and was a Senior Book Conservator at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center in Austin, Texas from 1985 to 1988. He is now a rare book conservator and fine binder in Nevada City, California.

Winner: The Helen Warren DeGolyer Award for American Bookbinding

Example Binding: 
John Chalmers. 
A Bookbinders' Florilegium.
Printed by Carol Kent.
Austin, Texas: Press of the Humanities Research Center, 1988.

Full dark brown calf over a K-118 binding. Boards have a recessed dark green morocco border with corners inset with green jasper stones. Doublures of multicolored onlays depict books.

Design Description: 
Pale blue leather over a K-118 binding with Molly's last words echoed in gilt on the back cover. Doublures rendered from photographs, carved, cut, molded and airbrushed calf in muted brown tones. Relief panels bordered in multicolored frames of onlaid, inlaid, and tooled leather. Headbanks in three colors sewn to the text.

Binding reflects the color and simplicity of the original. The front doublure represents Bloom's inner mind; the back doublure is a final soliloquy to Molly.