Verdura : The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler

Few jewelry designers of the 20th century had the flair and creativity of Fulco di Verdura (full name Fulco Santostefano della Cerda, Duke of Verdura). His fascinating career took him from Paris to Los Angeles and eventually New York, where he was patronized by the rich and famous, who found his flamboyant neo-Baroque style exactly what they wanted. Cole Porter and his wife Linda, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo, among others, were his devoted admirers, as were many of Society's movers and shakers, including the Duchess of Windsor, Diana Vreeland and Mona Bismarck, who not only collected his brilliant confections but were pleased to entertain him at their dinner tables and in their country homes. Patricia Corbett expertly discusses and evaluates Verdura's jewelry designs in this lavish volume, the first monograph on this master jeweler. She has been given access to all Verdura's archives and to many of his surviving patrons in order to recreate both his personal and his professional life. Wonderful colour photography of the jewelry, as well as atmospheric historical photographs of the celebrities who adored Verdura's work, vividly trace his development over more than 25 years of feverish activity and show the great range and irresistible glittering beauty of his highly original pieces.