Levi Strauss Co. Building, San Francisco
1907Levi Strauss (1829–1902) was born in Buttenheim Bavaria, 7th child of Hirsch and Rebecca Strauss. Two older brothers had already migrated to the USA, and bought a wholesale dry goods business-textiles in NY called Strauss Brothers. A couple of years after his father died of TB in 1846, Levi emigrated to New York with his widowed mother and sisters. It was unclear if the family had been struggling financially in Germany without a father, or if they were escaping the oppressive legislation Jews faced in 1840s Germany. In any case, he happily became an American citizen.
When New Yorkers heard of the California Gold Rush, Levi travelled overland to San Francisco in 1853 to make a living. He established a wholesale dry goods business and served as the West Coast agent of the family’s New York firm. Levi eventually renamed his west coast company Levi Strauss & Co, serving the small general shops of the American West.
Only in 1872 did Levi receive a letter from a customer, tailor Jacob Davis from Reno Nevada. In his letter Davis discussed the unique way he made stronger pants for his customers, via copper rivets at points of strain. Davis, himself a Latvian immigrant, wanted to patent this new idea, needed a business partner to help. Levi was impressed and the patent (for Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings) was granted to Davis and Strauss in 1873.
Blue jeans appeared for the first time, made from denim. Denim comes from a sturdy fabric called serge de Nîmes-denim initially made in France. Although denim had been used for workwear for years, the newly added rivets made a big difference. Their 1886 Two Horse Trademark showed two horses attempting to pull apart a pair of Levi's waist overalls - this logo symbolised the great clothing in a competitive market.
And Levi had other business pursuits during his career. In 1875, Levi and two associates purchased the Mission and Pacific Woollen Mills. Then he became a charter member and treasurer of the San Francisco Board of Trade in 1877. He was a director of the Nevada Bank, the Liverpool London and Globe Insurance Co and the San Francisco Gas and Electric Co. And he served in the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
And he was an important patron and donor. Levi was a contributor to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and Home, the Eureka Benevolent Society and the Hebrew Board of Relief. In 1897 Levi funded 28 scholarships at University of California Berkeley! Strauss also paid for half the cost of renovating the Jewish cemetery back in Bavaria.
Strauss must have had a problem with Chinese people. Chinese labourers had built the states’ railroads and done difficult low-wage work no one else wanted, but when recession hit in the 1870s, white Californians blamed Chinese immigrants. Bowing to popular xenophobia, Strauss dismissed his 100+ Chinese workers. The wall text quotes historian Fred Rosenbaum’s book Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area: Despite their own suffering in Europe and strong record of defending the disadvantaged, these European Jews showed no more sensitivity to the persecution of Asians than did other white Californians.”
Shortly before his death, Strauss reversed himself. He co-signed a letter to the Senate opposing renewal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, calling it “a gross injustice.” The act passed anyway.
Late in the C19th, Levi was still involved in the day-to-day workings of the company. In 1890 Levi and his nephews officially incorporated the company; and Davis sold his interest back to Levi Strauss by the turn of the century.
Levi Strauss died in 1902. His estate was worth $6 million, and as his siblings had all died, the bulk of the assets was left to his beloved four nephews; further donations were made to his beloved Californian charitable foundations.
When New Yorkers heard of the California Gold Rush, Levi travelled overland to San Francisco in 1853 to make a living. He established a wholesale dry goods business and served as the West Coast agent of the family’s New York firm. Levi eventually renamed his west coast company Levi Strauss & Co, serving the small general shops of the American West.
Only in 1872 did Levi receive a letter from a customer, tailor Jacob Davis from Reno Nevada. In his letter Davis discussed the unique way he made stronger pants for his customers, via copper rivets at points of strain. Davis, himself a Latvian immigrant, wanted to patent this new idea, needed a business partner to help. Levi was impressed and the patent (for Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings) was granted to Davis and Strauss in 1873.
Blue jeans appeared for the first time, made from denim. Denim comes from a sturdy fabric called serge de Nîmes-denim initially made in France. Although denim had been used for workwear for years, the newly added rivets made a big difference. Their 1886 Two Horse Trademark showed two horses attempting to pull apart a pair of Levi's waist overalls - this logo symbolised the great clothing in a competitive market.
And Levi had other business pursuits during his career. In 1875, Levi and two associates purchased the Mission and Pacific Woollen Mills. Then he became a charter member and treasurer of the San Francisco Board of Trade in 1877. He was a director of the Nevada Bank, the Liverpool London and Globe Insurance Co and the San Francisco Gas and Electric Co. And he served in the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
And he was an important patron and donor. Levi was a contributor to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and Home, the Eureka Benevolent Society and the Hebrew Board of Relief. In 1897 Levi funded 28 scholarships at University of California Berkeley! Strauss also paid for half the cost of renovating the Jewish cemetery back in Bavaria.
Strauss must have had a problem with Chinese people. Chinese labourers had built the states’ railroads and done difficult low-wage work no one else wanted, but when recession hit in the 1870s, white Californians blamed Chinese immigrants. Bowing to popular xenophobia, Strauss dismissed his 100+ Chinese workers. The wall text quotes historian Fred Rosenbaum’s book Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area: Despite their own suffering in Europe and strong record of defending the disadvantaged, these European Jews showed no more sensitivity to the persecution of Asians than did other white Californians.”
Shortly before his death, Strauss reversed himself. He co-signed a letter to the Senate opposing renewal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, calling it “a gross injustice.” The act passed anyway.
Late in the C19th, Levi was still involved in the day-to-day workings of the company. In 1890 Levi and his nephews officially incorporated the company; and Davis sold his interest back to Levi Strauss by the turn of the century.
Levi Strauss died in 1902. His estate was worth $6 million, and as his siblings had all died, the bulk of the assets was left to his beloved four nephews; further donations were made to his beloved Californian charitable foundations.
Advertising for the denim jeans
Note Levi Strauss' photo in the top left
San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum opened a Levi Strauss exhibition that ended Aug 2021. Showing 250+ items from company’s archives, Levi Strauss: A History of American Style represented the largest public display from company's enormous archival materials. Visitors saw a suit owned by Lauren Bacall, a jacket worn by Albert Einstein, a 1974 AMC Gremlin car with an interior upholstered completely in denim, and the original 1873 patent. Works in different media were on view, showing ways in which the history of jeans became a marker of American identity. It was about the evolution of casual fashion and San Francisco’s immigrant history. It showed the power of advertising and marketing, and the classic immigrant success enjoyed by young, hardworking German men.
More unexpected were the denim-decorated Torah covers referring to San Francisco, Jewish and gay history; an outfit worn by Harvey Milk; a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt made by Levi’s employees; a flouncy denim ball gown for a San Francisco drag queen; Albert Einstein’s very chic Levi’s leather jacket; a pair of well-preserved Levi’s from 1890; rodeo clown costumes and creepy cowboy marionettes. Parts from films depicting the essential American-ness of Levi’s were shown including The Wild One (Marlon Brando), The Misfits (Marilyn Monroe), The Outsiders, The Breakfast Club, Thelma and Louise and Brokeback Mountain.
The exhibit displays the San Francisco of Strauss’ day, including photos of his synagogue, factories, the skyline before and after the 1906 earthquake, and brand marketing by the company. Though Levi Strauss began with rugged workwear designed for miners, the company quickly saw that cowboy myths appealed to city Americans. As America increasingly loved Western films, the company began promoting rodeos and using ads stating that genuine Levi’s were worn by all cowboys.
San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum opened a Levi Strauss exhibition that ended Aug 2021. Showing 250+ items from company’s archives, Levi Strauss: A History of American Style represented the largest public display from company's enormous archival materials. Visitors saw a suit owned by Lauren Bacall, a jacket worn by Albert Einstein, a 1974 AMC Gremlin car with an interior upholstered completely in denim, and the original 1873 patent. Works in different media were on view, showing ways in which the history of jeans became a marker of American identity. It was about the evolution of casual fashion and San Francisco’s immigrant history. It showed the power of advertising and marketing, and the classic immigrant success enjoyed by young, hardworking German men.
More unexpected were the denim-decorated Torah covers referring to San Francisco, Jewish and gay history; an outfit worn by Harvey Milk; a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt made by Levi’s employees; a flouncy denim ball gown for a San Francisco drag queen; Albert Einstein’s very chic Levi’s leather jacket; a pair of well-preserved Levi’s from 1890; rodeo clown costumes and creepy cowboy marionettes. Parts from films depicting the essential American-ness of Levi’s were shown including The Wild One (Marlon Brando), The Misfits (Marilyn Monroe), The Outsiders, The Breakfast Club, Thelma and Louise and Brokeback Mountain.
The exhibit displays the San Francisco of Strauss’ day, including photos of his synagogue, factories, the skyline before and after the 1906 earthquake, and brand marketing by the company. Though Levi Strauss began with rugged workwear designed for miners, the company quickly saw that cowboy myths appealed to city Americans. As America increasingly loved Western films, the company began promoting rodeos and using ads stating that genuine Levi’s were worn by all cowboys.
Levi Strauss was progressive in some important ways eg as far back as the 1920s, its workforce was racially integrated. The company always treated its LGBT employees with respect and dignity. It donated significant funds to fight the gay cancer before the disease was even given the name AIDS. Levi’s history is America's history in its creative, entrepreneurial, spirited glory and in its colonialist darkness.
Two Horse Trademark since 1886
showing two horses attempting to pull apart a pair of Levi's waist overalls
showing two horses attempting to pull apart a pair of Levi's waist overalls
Buy the catalogue or see some of the exhibits in Phyl on the Go.