The Ulyanovsk Museum of Local History houses a walnut walking stick with a silver inlay pattern that used to belong to Ivan Goncharov. A distant relative of the writer Mikhail Kirmalov recalled that Goncharov was fond of walking sticks and even had a big collection of them.
The metal tip prevented premature wearing and deterioration of the stick. The wooden shaft has a metal inlay pattern bearing the owners’ monograms. One of them reveals that Ivan Goncharov gave this stick to Vasily Treygut — the son of his deceased manservant Karl Ludwig Treygut. When Karl Treygut died of tuberculosis, the writer took care of his family — the widow Alexandra and three little children, including Vasily who was the middle child. Ivan Goncharov arranged for all Treygut children to get an education in Saint Petersburg, and helped the daughters Alexandra and Yelena to find a job and marry.
The writer also assisted in Vasily Treygut’s getting a state-funded education at the Crafts School of Tsarevich Nikolay in 1882. Theygut also graduated from the Saint Petersburg military school and took part in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. He was severely wounded in action, which led to his grave illness and death in 1913 at the age of 42.
The stick also has the monogram of Yelena Lindenbaum, née Treygut — Vasily’s youngest sister. It is likely that she inherited the item after her brother’s death.
Through Ivan Goncharov’s efforts, Yelena Treygut-Lindenbaum graduated from the Kolomanskaya gymnasium and the Ivanov pedagogical institute. Then she became Goncharov’s assistant: she maintained his correspondence and documents in order, kept archives, and helped to edit his drafts. As a sign of gratitude, the writer presented her with the manuscripts of his last several articles and gave his permission to publish them in journals or as a collection of essays as long as Yelena Traigut received royalties from it.
The walking stick was donated to the museum by Nina Rezvetsova — a relative of the Treygut family.
The metal tip prevented premature wearing and deterioration of the stick. The wooden shaft has a metal inlay pattern bearing the owners’ monograms. One of them reveals that Ivan Goncharov gave this stick to Vasily Treygut — the son of his deceased manservant Karl Ludwig Treygut. When Karl Treygut died of tuberculosis, the writer took care of his family — the widow Alexandra and three little children, including Vasily who was the middle child. Ivan Goncharov arranged for all Treygut children to get an education in Saint Petersburg, and helped the daughters Alexandra and Yelena to find a job and marry.
The writer also assisted in Vasily Treygut’s getting a state-funded education at the Crafts School of Tsarevich Nikolay in 1882. Theygut also graduated from the Saint Petersburg military school and took part in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. He was severely wounded in action, which led to his grave illness and death in 1913 at the age of 42.
The stick also has the monogram of Yelena Lindenbaum, née Treygut — Vasily’s youngest sister. It is likely that she inherited the item after her brother’s death.
Through Ivan Goncharov’s efforts, Yelena Treygut-Lindenbaum graduated from the Kolomanskaya gymnasium and the Ivanov pedagogical institute. Then she became Goncharov’s assistant: she maintained his correspondence and documents in order, kept archives, and helped to edit his drafts. As a sign of gratitude, the writer presented her with the manuscripts of his last several articles and gave his permission to publish them in journals or as a collection of essays as long as Yelena Traigut received royalties from it.
The walking stick was donated to the museum by Nina Rezvetsova — a relative of the Treygut family.
