A TEXAN’S QUEST FOR NOTHING BUT THE BEST

What do you do when you want to publish a book and nine New York publishing houses say no? You might take a lesson from Stuart Jacobson. Get together some Texas friends and publish it yourself.

Three years ago, Jacobson, a Dallas native, was visiting publishing magnate Walter Annen-berg of TV Guide at his California home. Jacobson began admiring an autographed picture of Winston Churchill, which Annenberg called “as fine a gift as I have ever received.”

At a dinner party in 1949, Annenberg had expressed his regrets to Churchill about the former Prime Minister’s being turned out by British voters. Churchill said, “Young Annenberg, look not for rewards from others, but hope you have done your best.” After an intimate conversation, Churchill said, “I am going to do something I rarely do, which is to leave my autographed picture for you upon my departure. Don’t tell anyone until I am out of the country.”

Prior to hearing Annenberg’s story, Jacobson had been content as a fashion model for Zoli in New York. But he was fascinated with gift giving as a unique form of expression. Inspired, Ja-cobson set out to interview celebrated Americans about the gifts they treasured most. The result, three years later, is a beautifully photographed book, complete with the stories behind each gift, called Only the Best: A Celebration of Gift Giving in America,

Jacobson’s task was difficult. He didn’t seek out faddish celebrities who come and go like so many People covers. His targets were those who have stood the test of time. But the publishing houses told him that these were precisely the people he would never be able to interview.

Returning to Dallas, Jacobson related his failure to friend Lupe Murchison. They drew up a limited partnership agreement and began seeking investors. Within weeks, 30 Texas investors had jumped on the bandwagon and $300,000 in cash was at Jacobson’s disposal.

Two of his supporters were Dallas’ lords of gift giving, Stanley Marcus and Roger Horchow. With their help, many previously closed doors opened for Jacobson, who was never turned down for an interview. Word of mouth among the famous kept opening new doors for him, with one interview leading to another. For example, Jacobson had been hoping to interview Happy Rockefeller. One day, while he was interviewing Bill Blass at La Grenouille in New York, Mrs. Rockefeller strolled into the restaurant with a friend of Jacobson’s. He secured an interview on the spot.

Only the Best was released in October, and over 60,000 copies have already been sold. Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc. has ordered 6,000 advance copies of the book to be used as part of a corporate incentive program. Tiffany’s has also ordered 4,000 advance copies. Jacobson began a 21-city promotion tour last month; in January, he’ll leave for Europe to begin work on a European version of Only the Best.