The patent that made Levi’s: how blue jeans became a business
Levi Strauss, a German-born merchant, moved to San Francisco in 1853 during the Gold Rush and opened a wholesale dry goods business, selling cloth, clothing and supplies to small stores across the West.
One of his customers, a Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis, had a problem: miners kept tearing the pockets of their pants. Davis began reinforcing the stress points with copper rivets.
The patent
Davis did not have the money to file a patent, so he asked Strauss to go in with him. On May 20, 1873, they received a patent for riveted work pants. Levi Strauss & Co. began making them in denim, and the company still marks that date as the birthday of the blue jean.
The lot number 501 came into use in the 1890s and is still the company’s best-known style.
From workwear to fashion
Jeans moved from miners and cowboys to movie stars, students and rock musicians in the 20th century. Levi’s became a symbol of American style around the world.
The company today
Levi Strauss & Co. is still based in San Francisco, at Levi’s Plaza. Descendants of Strauss’s family took the company private in 1985, and it returned to the stock market in 2019. Jeans remain its core, along with tops, jackets and the Dockers brand.
