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 $ 17,000 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
1906 earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Gump's