Salvatore Bumbello – Collectors’ Island

June 1, 2019 12:00 pm

Salvatore Bumbello is a puppet maker who does most of his work for the Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum in Palermo, Italy.  Traditional Sicilian marionettes, called pupi, provided a popular form of entertainment from the early 1800’s until the 1960’s when audiences lost interest, likely due to the omnipresence of television. Salvatore is one of Palermo’s most acclaimed puppet makers.

Each year the Genevan watchmaker Vacheron Costantin releases an art book titled Collectors’ Island, this year I photographed the entire book and this is one of ten stories included. Part one of this story, about the Museum that Bumbello works for, can be viewed here. 

Many thanks to Bradley Seymour at Studio Sibling for the invaluable creative direction, and to Lara Lo Calzo for her exceptional work as Editorial Manager.