Nevada/California Regional Convention
"Good as Gold"

How were blue jeans invented? It's a simple story.
Levi Strauss came to San Francisco in 1853, at the age of twenty-four, to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business. He had spent a number of years learning the trade in New York after emigrating there from his native Germany. He built his business into a very successful operation over the next twenty years, making a name for himself not only as a well-respected businessman, but as a local philanthropist as well.

One of Levi's many customers was a tailor named Jacob Davis. Originally from Latvia, Jacob lived in Reno, Nevada, and regularly purchased bolts of cloth from the wholesale house of Levi Strauss & Co. Among Jacob's customers was a difficult man who kept ripping the pockets of the pants that Jacob made for him. Jacob tried to think of a way to strengthen the man's trousers, and one day hit upon the idea of putting metal rivets at the points of strain, such as on the pocket corners and at the base of the button fly.

These riveted pants were an instant hit with Jacob's customers and he worried that someone might steal this great idea. He decided he should apply for a patent on the process, but didn't have the $68 that was required to file the papers. He needed a business partner and he immediately thought of Levi Strauss.

Jacob wrote to Levi to suggest that the two men hold the patent together. Levi, who was an astute businessman, saw the potential for this new product and agreed to Jacob's proposal. On May 20, 1873, the two men received patent #139,121 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We consider that day to be the official "birthday" of blue jeans.

Although denim pants had been around as work wear for many years, it was the first use of rivets that created what we now call jeans. "Waist overalls" was the traditional name for work pants, which is what these first jeans were called. The word jeans became more popular around 1960 when the baby-boom generation adopted the term for its favorite type of pants.

Sometime during 1873, the first riveted clothing was made and sold. (We're not sure of the exact date because we lost all our historic records in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.) Jacob Davis was in charge of manufacturing when Levi Strauss & Co. opened its two San Francisco factories.

The denim for the riveted work pants came from the Amoskeag Mill in Manchester, New Hampshire, a company known for the quality of its fabrics. Within a very short time, all types of working men were buying the innovative new pants and spreading the word about their unrivaled durability. Around 1890, these pants were assigned the number 501, which they still bear today.

Holding a patent on this process meant that for nearly twenty years, Levi Strauss & Co. was the only company allowed to make riveted clothing until the patent went into the public domain around 1891. When the patent expired, dozens of garment manufacturers began to imitate the original riveted clothing made popular by Levi Strauss & Co.
So, the next time you see someone wearing a pair of Levi's® 501® jeans, remember that these pants are a direct descendant of the original pair made in 1873. And it was two visionary immigrants, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, who turned denim, thread and a little metal into the most popular clothing product in the world - blue jeans.

Lynn Downey, LS&CO. Historian