Tom Conroy with his bookbinding press. Credit: Jeff Peachey
Tom Conroy, a master bookbinder, died on Nov. 11 in his North Berkeley home. He was 73.
“Tom was a working historian or, perhaps, an experimental archeologist of the book,” said Nicholas Yeager, who for many years taught bookbinding at San Francisco’s Center for the Book. “Not only did he train as a librarian, he studied bookbinding and conservation as well as practiced those skills. He also wrote about 19th century toolmaking for bookbinding and woodworking. There will be a huge gap in original research and synthesis of practical experience without his encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the book.”
“Tom was a respected practitioner in the world of bookbinding, known also for his learned observations and writings on the history of bookbinding,” said Andrea Grimes, Special Collections librarian at the San Francisco Public Library. “We were always excited when Tom visited — his research, consultations and teaching skills were not only invaluable to the librarians in Book Arts & Special Collections but were documented in several essays published in the series ‘Suave Mechanicals: Essays on the History of Bookbinding.’”
Born in Chicago in 1952, Tom developed an interest in books, especially as physical objects, at an early age, according to his housemate Terry Hicks. “He was known to neighbors as the guy who walked down the street reading a book.”
Tom moved to Berkeley in 1960 with his mother, who became president of the Berkeley Art Co-op (now ACCI). He graduated from St. John’s College in Albuquerque, a “great books” college, where he was assistant instructor in fencing. He received a master’s degree in library science from UC Berkeley.
Tom had a long association with Berkeley’s Capricornus School of Bookbinding and Art Restoration and was a member of the original chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
Tom’s grandfather was “worker-writer” and civil rights activist Jack Conroy. His uncle, Harry Fine, was a prominent boxing manager, trainer, and promoter in Sacramento and Oakland, where he operated a boxing ring and gym.
“Tom researched bookbinding toolmakers in England, and in the United States, tracking down a particular tool to its likely origin based on a few clues from the tool itself,” said Yeager. “His prodigious research skills, allied with his memory, allowed him to be cognizant of disparate materials when a question arose and he could put things together like a parlor trick. Tom leaves behind his many publications, articles, and correspondence. His family of the book is grieving the loss of a brilliant mind and generous friend.”
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