Our Bright Young Collectors series continues today with Bella Savignano of New York City who was an Honorable Mention in the 2025 Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize for woman collectors aged 30 and younger.
Where are you from / where do you live?
I'm from Atlanta, Georgia and currently live in Brooklyn, New York.
What did you study at University? What do you do now for an occupation?
I did my undergraduate degree in Design History at The New School and now work at Swann Auction Galleries as an administrator in the Fine Art department and a cataloguer for Subculture-related material. I'll be going to the University of Oxford this fall to pursue my MPhil in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology.
Please introduce us to your book collection. What areas do you collect in?
My collection focuses on the culture around music, beyond the music itself. The ephemera I collect helps piece together an alternative history of glam rock that honors and spotlights the contributions of queer and marginalized performers. I seek out material that investigates how political environments, groupies and fans, and fashion play into the identities that performers take on. In my collection, this manifests as fanzines, letters, photographs, newspaper clippings, etc. I'm interested in expanding my collection beyond glam rock and into nightlife culture at large.
How many books are in your collection?
Since I don't really collect books in particular, it's hard to quantify. Do I count each individual newspaper clipping? I'll just say that it fills up two drawers in my flat file.
What was the first book you bought for your collection?
My ephemera collection began with the purchase of a stack of 8x10 glossy press photos of Elton John, a collection of anti-Vietnam War political postcards, and a special edition magazine about the Rocky Horror Picture Show that folds out into a poster. I found them in a warehouse of deadstock goods.
How about the most recent book?
I recently bought Tod Papageorge's photo book Studio 54 which is by no means rare or hard to come by, but was an exciting purchase as someone who loves to indulge in nostalgia for a world of nightlife that no longer exists. Papageorge does a great job of capturing the environment and its chaos.
And your favorite book in your collection?
If I must pick a favorite, my collection of glam rock clothing shop photos is pretty special. It captures the shop employees in sequined suits and towering platforms alongside regular folks who came in just to experience the spectacle of it all. It's cool to see a bunch of young weirdos figure out where they belong.
