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The Birthday of Blue Jeans
Levi Strauss moved to San Francisco in 1853, at the age of twenty four, to open a west coast branch of his brother's New York dry goods business. He had spent a number of years learning the trade in New York after emigrating from Germany. He built the business into a very successful operation over the next twenty years, including the creation of one of America's greated clothing inventions.
One of Levi's many customers was a tailor by the name of Jacob Davis. Originally from Latvia, Jacob lived in Reno, Nevada, and regularly purchased large quantities of cloth from the wholesale house of Levi Strauss & Co. Among one of Jacob's many 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.
Jacob's new riveted pants were an instant success with all his 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.
In 1872 Jacob wrote a letter 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 no.139,121 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. That day is now considered to be the official "birthday" of blue jeans.
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