Levi Strauss

By: Evan Patel

Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829. By the age of 16, both his parents had
died so he decided to immigrate to the United States. He arrived in New York where
he joined his two older brothers in the wholesale textile and tailoring business. When
Strauss heard about the Gold Rush he left for San Francisco. He planned to
manufacture tents for those people arriving in California to work as miners. He
discovered there was no demand for this product and instead used this canvas to
make waist-high overalls. Later he switched from canvas to a tough cotton fabric
from France called Serge de Nimes. This material eventually became known as
denim. In 1860 Strauss strengthen the pockets of his trousers with copper rivets. In
1873 he patented these blue denim trousers that were now known as jeans. Levi
Strauss's jeans were popular with cowboys and farmers and he made a great deal of
money from his business. Strauss was extremely generous and contributed to several
San Francisco orphanages. He also paid for students to attend the University of
California. Levi Strauss never married and when he died in 1902 he left his company
to his four nephews.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWstrauss.htm
 Levi Strauss’s History
His name at birth Loeb Strauss.He made his fortune in the California Gold Rush as
the maker of sturdy pants -- Levi's, the world's most famous denim jeans. Strauss
emigrated to New York from Bavaria in 1847, then made his way to the San
Francisco area in 1853. A tailor who had planned to make tents for miners, Strauss
ended up stitching canvas pants that became famous for their durability. The "pants
of Levi's" came to be called simply Levi's, and they became one of the best-selling
products in his dry goods store. He began using fabric from Nîmes, France, serge
de Nîmes (the origin of the word denim), then added dye to make them blue. In the
1870s he partnered with Jacob Davis of Nevada to add copper rivets to the pockets.
Levi Strauss & Company became one of the world's largest manufacturers of
casual clothing and Strauss himself became a wealthy patron of the city of San
Francisco. Strauss was a lifelong bachelor, and after his death in 1902 his nephews
took over the company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzJtv14Ieb4
 Levi Strauss
In 1853, the 24 year old Strauss left New York for San Francisco, hoping to cash
in on the Gold Rush that began in 1849. Along with his sister and brother-in-law,
he opened a dry goods store that sold supplies to miners as well as fancy linens,
etc., to the growing city.
In 1872, Levi received a letter from Jacob Davis, a Nevada tailor. Davis was one
of Levi Strauss' regular customers; he purchased bolts of cloth from the company
to use for his own business. In his letter, Davis told about the interesting way he
made pants for his customers: he placed metal rivets at the points of strain-pocket
corners and the base of the fly. He didn't have the money to patent his process so
he suggested that Levi pay for the paperwork and that they take out the patent
together. The patent was granted on May 20, 1873, and the first blue jeans were
born.
 Levi’s
The first jeans came in two styles, indigo blue and brown cotton "duck."
Unlike denim, the duck material never became soft and comfortable so it was
eventually dropped from the line.
Strauss' utterly practical blue jeans were even embraced by the fashion
industry. Levi's jeans for women were first featured in Vogue magazine in
1935. "Designer jeans" eventually became so popular that in the mid-1970s
Calvin Klein jeans were garnering $12.5 million per week. Abroad, American
jeans (especially Levi's jeans) were in such demand that in Eastern Bloc
countries they became an underground standard of currency.
However down to earth they may originally have been, the blue jeans
invented by Levi Strauss became an international phenomenon and an icon of
American culture.
 Levi’s Timeline
1829 Loeb Strauss born February 26, 1829 in Buttenheim, Germany
1847 Strauss family moves to New York City where Levi joined his brothers
dry-goods business
1853 Levi moves to San Francisco, California to establishing a dry-goods
business Levi Strauss&Co.
1872 Jacob wrote a letter to Levi suggests that they hold the riveted pants
patent rights together.
1872 on August 8, filed patent application for Improvements in Fastening
Pocket-Openings
1873 patent 139,121 awarded to Jacob Davis and one half assigned to Levi
Strauss & Co.
1873 Levi hires Jacob to oversee production of the riveted pants at the San
Francisco plant
1875 Levi and two associates purchased the Mission and Pacific Woolen Mills
1890 the year that the lot number "501®" was first used to designate the denim
waist overalls
1935 Levi's® jeans for women were first featured in Vogue magazine
1936 The red Tab Device was created to help identify Levi's® 501® jeans
from a distance
1960 The word jeans became popular when the baby-boom generation used the
term for the pants
Levi’s Story
Levi Strauss, the inventor of the quintessential American garment - the blue jean -
was born in Buttenheim, Bavaria on February 26, 1829 to Hirsch Strauss and his
second wife, Rebecca Haas Strauss. Hirsch, a dry goods peddler, already had five
children with his first wife, who had died a few years earlier: Jacob, Jonas, Louis,
Rosla and Mathilde. Levi - named "Loeb" at birth - and his older sister Fanny were
the last of the Strauss children; Hirsch succumbed to tuberculosis in 1845.
 
Two years after his death, Rebecca, Loeb, Fanny and Mathilde emigrated to New
York. There, they were met by Jonas and Louis, who had already made the journey
and had started a dry-goods business, called “J. Strauss Brother & Co.” Young Loeb
soon began to learn the trade himself, and by 1850 he was known among his family
and customers as “Levi” .

When news of the California Gold Rush made its way east, Levi decided to emigrate
to San Francisco to make his fortune: not by panning gold, but by selling supplies to
the throngs of miners who arrived daily in the big city to outfit themselves before
heading off to the gold fields. In January of 1853 he became an American citizen,
and in March he arrived in bustling, noisy San Francisco, establishing a dry-goods
business under his own name and also serving as the West Coast representative of
the family’s New York firm. In 1863 the company was renamed “Levi Strauss &
Co.”. Then in 1866 Levi moved the headquarters to larger quarters at 14-16 Battery
Street, where it remained for the next forty years.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWstrauss.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzJtv14Ieb4