Vintage Gump's Department Store History Directory San Francisco 1960-70's

Description

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Estate sale find, vintage original
Gump's Department Store brochure directory
, circa 1960-70's.
S & G Gump was founded in 1861 as a mirror and frame shop by Solomon Gump and his brother, Gustav. It later sold moldings, gilded cornices, and European artwork to those recently made wealthy from the California Gold Rush.
The business flourished; the store sold products ranging from jewelry made from jade, precious gemstones, and cultured freshwater pearls to products from luxury designers such as Hermès and Buccellati. Customers included Franklin D. Roosevelt, who bought model ships and smoking jackets there, and Sarah Bernhardt, who bought a 17th-century bronze Chinese snake in preparation for playing Cleopatra.
It was eventually passed on to Solomon's son Alfred Livingston Gump. The fire following the 1906 earthquake destroyed the store and all of the merchandise, but thanks to Dodie Valencia, A.L. received ,000 for one of his paintings, which allowed funding for the rebuilding and restocking of the store.
A.L. was fueled by his passion for Oriental art and began selling his exotic collectibles from the Far East. He sent his buyers to Japan and China, bringing back exotic rugs, porcelains, silks, bronzes and jades to California's new millionaires.
Richard Gump, one of A.L.’s three children, eventually became president of Gump's after his father's death in 1947. He continued the family legacy, running the company's overall operations until his retirement in 1975.
Gump's was sold to publisher Crowell Collier, which after further mergers became Macmillan Publishers. By June 1989, Gump's had again been sold, this time to an investment group including Japan's Tobu Department Store and the Charterhouse Group.
Product Dimensions: 3.5" X 6.5", 14 pages, shipping weight: 3 ounces.
PLEASE SEE DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOS FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS - The booklet is in overall Fair to Good Minus used condition with signs of wear, tears, creases, fading, sunning and age toning, soiling, stains, writing, no odors, please see images.
(C1C17-102)