Like many other things in life, things went a little different than Strauss expected. Strauss' goal wasn't to be a fashion creator, but to sell a load of dry goods to the miners along the west coast. Being unable to sell a large amount of canvas, he decided to create work clothes using said canvas. The rest, as they say, is history!
Levi Strauss patents copper-riveted jeans
Acting at the behest of a Reno, Nevada, tailor who had invented the idea, Levi Strauss secures the necessary patents for canvas pants with copper rivets to reinforce the stress points.
Born in Buttenheim, Bavaria, in 1829, the young Levi Strauss emigrated to the United States in 1847. Strauss initially went into business selling dry goods along the East Coast, but in 1852, his brother-in-law encouraged him to relocate to the booming city of San Francisco. He arrived in San Francisco in 1853 with a load of merchandise that he hoped to sell in the California mining camps. Unable to sell a large supply of canvas, Strauss hit on the idea of using the durable material to make work pants for miners. Strauss' canvas pants were an immediate success among hardworking miners who had long complained that conventional pants wore out too quickly.
In 1872, Strauss received a letter from Jacob Davis, a customer and tailor who worked in the mining town of Reno, Nevada. Davis reported that he had discovered canvas pants could be improved if the pocket seams and other weak points that tended to tear were strengthened by copper rivets. Davis' riveted pants had proven popular in Reno, but he needed a patent to protect his invention. Intrigued by the copper-riveted pants, Strauss and his partners agreed to undertake the necessary legal work for the patent and begin large-scale production of the pants. Davis' invention was patented on this day in 1873. In exchange for his idea, Strauss made the Reno tailor his production manager. Eventually, Strauss switched from using canvas to heavyweight blue denim, and the modern "blue jeans" were born.
Since then, Levi Strauss & Company has sold more than 200 million pairs of copper-riveted jeans. By the turn of the century, people outside of the mining and ranching communities had discovered that "Levi's" were both comfortable and durable. Eventually, the jeans lost most of their association with the West and came to be simply a standard element of the casual American wardrobe.
Fate has a way of taking us off the path we have laid out for ourselves sometimes. This time it seems to have been a fortunate turn of events, not only for Strauss but for us all!
Coffee out on the patio this morning...again! Fresh fruit anyone?
Good story! Never called them Levi jeans - they were always 'dungarees'. And they don't last as long as they did years ago. Fruit sounds wonderful - save me a seat!
ReplyDeleteWe always just called them Levi's or jeans. Chicken mom is right that they don't seem to last as long as they did wears ago. Save me a seat on the swing and thanks for the fruit.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get yesterday's post but it's there today. Made for lots of reading this morning.
ReplyDeleteI remember calling then dungarees back east when I was a kid then it was Levi's and out here their jeans.
Great patio weather until about 11 am then back in the house to escape the heat. Fruit is nice and refreshing.
I wonder how many of the 200 million pairs I bought over the years?
ReplyDeleteLevi 501's were what I wore for a long time, until they became too spendy... $60 as I recall the last time I looked at a pair of Levi 501's.
Makes me think of the song (Amanda)Pushing 30 an still wearing jeans.Well I'm pushing 80 and still wearing jeans.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Vw6UrEKq4
ReplyDeleteIt not only takes a special person to see opportunities but to take advantage of them. I have seen opportunities but rarely took advantage of them.
ReplyDeleteOne of those rivets had to go. When men squatted at the camp fire, the rivet in the crotch seam gave the guys quite a burn. There is no longer a rivet there. Well, that's what I heard. Could be a lie. I do love fruit.
ReplyDelete