Gumbs furniture
Heinrich Daniel Gumbs (1765-1831), a furniture maker originally from the Prussian town of Neuwied, was a student and assistant of the outstanding furniture maker David Roentgen. In 1790, he arrived in St. Petersburg, accompanying a large consignment of furniture from Röntgen’s workshop, ordered by Empress Catherine II. Having assessed the possibilities of the Russian market, Gumbs opened a furniture workshop in St. Petersburg on shares with the Austrian businessman Jonathan Ott in 1795.
From the announcement in the St. Petersburg Gazette: “Mechanic Gumbs, who studied his art with David Rentchen in Neuvid, has the honor to inform the venerable public that he will open this November 22nd on Nevsky Prospekt opposite the Kazan Church in the house of Messrs. Eropkin at No. 297 for the sale of all kinds of furniture.”
The quality of furniture from Gumbs’ workshop was excellent, and buying furniture from Gumbs was considered prestigious. The workshop carried out orders from the imperial court and created furniture based on sketches by famous architects who designed interiors for the Winter Palace and country royal residences. In 1810, Gumbs received the title and position of court mechanic. And this is not surprising, Heinrich Gumbs was the best specialist in furniture with hidden mechanics for opening furniture drawers and compartments.
In the State Library of the Pavlovsk Palace you can see an impressive table-bureau by Gambs, designed by Vincenzo Brenna, with a mahogany tabletop on twelve ivory legs, decorated with a portico-temple of the goddess Vesta.
At first, Gumbs’s workshop repeated the furniture designs of David Roentgen: straight lines and simple silhouettes, mahogany, bronze details in the form of flower garlands and leaves, marquetry made of thin veneer of precious wood. Over time, fashion changed, and the style of furniture from Gumbs’s workshop also changed. One thing remained unchanged – high quality of work.
Heinrich Gumbs died in 1831 from cholera. The furniture production was inherited by his sons, who became co-owners of their father during his lifetime. The family of Heinrich Daniel Gumbs and his wife Charlotte had five sons: Peter Genrikhovich (1802-1871), Alexander (1804-1862), Ernest-Ferdinand (1805-1849), Gustav Genrikhovich (1806-1875) and Ludwig Genrikhovich. In 1847, according to the design of the architect A. I. Stackenschneider, the Gumbs brothers created furniture for the “Pink Drawing Room” of the Winter Palace in the “second Rococo” style. The Gumbs brothers remained official suppliers to the imperial court until 1848. The Gumbs brothers’ firm ceased to exist in the 1860s.
In the family of Tsar Nicholas I there were three daughters, grand duchesses, for whom suitable husbands were found from among the highest European aristocracy. First, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna married the Duke of Leuchtenberg, then Alexandra Nikolaevna married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel-Rumpenheim. In 1846, Olga Nikolaevna married Crown Prince Charles of Württemberg. A luxurious dowry was prepared for each daughter, which included furniture, the production of which was obtained from the workshop of the Gumbs brothers.
This bureau is also unique in that it bears the workshop mark: “Ebeniste-Mecanicien Cour Gambs a St. Petersbourg” (Court Cabinetmaker-Mechanic Gumbs St. Petersburg). Furniture from Gumbs’s workshop was almost never signed. So, to find a sign under the upholstery of a chair with the inscription “With this chair, Master Gumbs begins…”, as described in the novel by Ilf and Petrov, would be an incredible success. But the chairs could look something like this.
The painting on the hinged lid of the secretary was made by Nikolai Frolov based on the painting by Karl Neff “Two Girls in National Dress” (1838). The inner surface of the lid, which serves as a writing surface, is lined with blue velvet, and the inner drawers are lined with ivory.
The collection of the State Historical Museum contains an interesting piece of furniture from the workshop of the Gumbs brothers, the so-called patent secretary, probably made as a gift to Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna. The patent secretary was intended for storing graphic works. This type of cabinet has two doors. One door folds back to form a desk-top. The second does not open completely, but just enough so that you can put the drawing in a leather pocket attached to the inside of the secretary. The secretary is decorated with porcelain inserts and overlays produced by the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
