Friedrich Ludwig Hausburg was born in Berlin, Prussia in 1817. He began his career working alongside his uncle, August Wilhelm Bernhardt Promoli, based at 4 Rue de Boulogne, Paris, specialising in fine jewellery, clocks and a wealth of other luxury items.
An advertisement from Pigot & Co’s National Commercial Directory confirms that Promoli had taken over the business of Thomas Woolfield by 1837. Woolfield was the uncle, by marriage, of Hausburg’s wife, Catherine Mossop; he was predominantly a writing and dressing case manufacturer, but also retailed a vast array of fancy goods. Having been previously known as Woolfield’s Bazaar, based at 71 & 72 Church Street, Liverpool, the business was now titled as W. B Promoli and had expanded to 71, 72, 73 & 74 Church Street.
In August 1840, both Hausburg and Promoli were naturalised as British citizens; a legal act that could not only boast having Queen Victoria as its personal signatory but that, uniquely, was passed in just five weeks instead of a usual four years. That same year the name of the business was changed to Promoli & Hausburg, with their address now declared as Old Post Office Buildings, 24 Church Street, Liverpool. Together, they advertised themselves as ‘Jewellers, Watchmakers, Manufacturer’s of Desks, Dressing Cases, Lamps and Chandeliers’.
Just a year later in 1841, the business was solely in the hands of Hausburg who continued dealing in the same vast range of luxurious inventory.
Looking at Hausburg’s work, one can clearly see the French influences harking back from when he was working in Paris; whilst very well versed in the more ‘reserved’ British style of exterior case design, he often produced pieces that featured far more lavish and intricate inlay work. Hausburg was known to use materials such as brass, pewter, ivory, abalone and mother of pearl to inlay into woods, or produce pieces dressed with Boulle work (tortoiseshell inlaid with brass). These decorative influences were often also applied to the interiors of his cases, with the inclusion of elaborately gold tooled leather to line the walls, floors, trays, and other components.
Hausburg retired in 1860 at the age of 43, selling his business to W.H Tooke who continued it from the same address. When Hausburg died in 1886, his estate was valued at a staggering £180,000 (£24 million in today’s money).