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Photography provided by HarperCollins Publishers
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Ruth Peltason, a New York art-book publisher and graduate of John Burroughs School, has always had a love of jewelry. Both her grandmother and her mother, who managed the jewelry department at Saks Fifth Avenue, helped instill that appreciation in her. Over the years, Peltason penned Living Jewels and edited Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry. Her most recent book, David Webb: The Quintessential American Jeweler, highlights the life and work of the midcentury master jeweler. On November 7, 8, and 9, Saks Fifth Avenue (Plaza Frontenac, 1701 S. Lindbergh, 314-567-9200, saksfifthavenue.com) showcases more than 300 of Webb’s pieces, with Peltason returning to town for the event.
What interested you in David Webb?My mom had some David Webb jewelry. She loved David Webb, and I always knew the name. I’m very interested in midcentury design, culture, and fashion, and Webb really came alive at that time. Then I got asked to do the book on Webb, and I thought, “Oh my God, if I do this right, it could be a hand-in-glove. If I screw it up, I’m going to feel really terrible.”
What surprised you about him? I love that he was completely self-taught. He was born in Asheville, N.C., in 1925, and he left for New York by the time he was 17—he never finished high school. He was like a lot of people who come to New York: They just know that’s what they’re going to do. I love the fact that this man had his own fabulous creativity, and that’s what got him here. Then he started looking. He started going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art once a week; he started collecting Chinese art; he started looking at fashion. I found that he was a wildly interesting guy.
Some of his more ornate motifs—zoo animals and bright color combinations—suggest he had a colorful personality.Apparently, in business, he was sort of discreet and proper, but with his friends, he was known as a cutup. He was a tad flamboyant, but by all counts he was a fabulous salesman and was absolutely loved by the fashion press. They could not get enough of him. Jackie Kennedy, when she was first lady, hired him to design the gifts of state for the Kennedy administration. He was, in 101 ways, the right man at the right place at the right time. These things just happen. It’s like The Beatles: It’s just the right time. He really was that person—he simply was beloved.
