LEVI STRAUSS
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. Levi - named "Loeb" at birth - and his
older sister Fanny were the last of the Strauss children; Hirsch and his first
wife had perhaps five children, but this information is hard to confirm.
Hirsch succumbed to tuberculosis in 1845 and two years later Rebecca, Loeb,
Fanny, and possibly another sister named Mathilde emigrated to New York. There,
they were met by Jonas and Louis, two of the older boys, who had already made
the journey and had started a wholesale 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” (in the census of that year,
his name is spelled “Levy.”).
When news of the California Gold Rush made its way east, Levi emigrated to San
Francisco to make his fortune, though he knew he wouldn’t make it panning gold.
At the end of January 1853 he became an American citizen, and in February he
headed for the West coast via the Isthmus of Panama. He arrived in bustling,
noisy San Francisco in early March, establishing a wholesale dry goods business
under his own name and also serving as the West Coast representative of the
family’s New York firm. His new company imported dry goods – clothing,
underwear, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, bolts of fabric – and sold them to the
small stores that were springing up all over California and the West. It was
these stores that helped outfit the miners of the Gold Rush and, eventually, the
new families that began to populate the Western regions. The first address where
Levi conducted business (that we know of) was at 90 Sacramento Street, and the
name of his firm was simply, “Levi Strauss.” In the 1850s this location was very
close to the waterfront, handy for receiving and selling the goods that arrived
by ship from his brother Jonas in New York. In 1856 Levi moved the business to
62 Sacramento Street and then to 63 & 65 Sacramento as its trade and reputation
expanded. By this time David Stern - who was married to Levi’s sister Fanny
- was associated with the firm. In 1861 the business relocated to 317 & 317
Sacramento Street, and in 1863 the company was renamed “Levi Strauss & Co.” Then
in 1866 Levi moved the headquarters again, to larger quarters at 14-16 Battery
Street, where it remained for the next forty years.
In his mid-thirties, Levi was already a well-known figure around the city. He
was active in the business and cultural life of San Francisco, and actively
supported the Jewish community. He also helped to found Temple Emanu-El, the
city's first synagogue. Despite his stature as an important business man, he
insisted that his employees call him Levi, not Mr. Strauss.
In 1872, Levi received a letter from Jacob Davis, a Reno, Nev., 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, he told the prosperous
merchant about the interesting way he made pants for his customers: he placed
metal rivets at the points of strain - pocket corners, and at the base of the
button fly. He did this in order to make the pants stronger for the laboring men
who were his customers. 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. Levi was enthusiastic about the idea and the patent was granted to
both men on May 20, 1873. The blue jean was born.
He knew that demand would be great for these riveted "waist overalls" (the old
name for jeans), so Levi brought Jacob Davis to San Francisco to oversee the
first West Coast manufacturing facility. The first manufacture of the jeans was
undertaken by individual seamstresses who worked out of their homes. By the
1880s Levi had leased factory space
and then opened his own factory south of Market Street (though the dates and
information are a bit vague here, thanks to the loss of the company’s historical
records in the 1906 earthquake and fire). The famous 501® jean – known at the
time simply as “XX” – was soon a best seller, as were the other riveted products
Levi and Jacob added to their new manufactured lines.
Levi carried on other business pursuits during his career, as well. 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
Company; and the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company. In 1875 Levi and two
associates purchased the Mission and Pacific Woolen Mills from the estate of
former silver millionaire William Ralston, and the mill's fabric was used to
make the Levi Strauss & Co. "blanket-lined" pants and coats.
He was also one of the city’s greatest philanthropists. Levi was a contributor
to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and Home, the Eureka Benevolent Society and
the Hebrew Board of Relief. In 1895 he and a number of other prominent San
Franciscans provided funds to build a new railroad from San Francisco to the San
Joaquin Valley (a project which unfortunately failed). And in 1897 Levi provided
the funds for twenty-eight scholarships at the University of California,
Berkeley.
As the end of the 19th century approached, Levi was still involved in the day
-to-day workings of the business, though he had brought his nephews into the
firm by this time. David Stern had died in 1874 and his four sons – Jacob,
Sigmund, Louis and Abraham – were now working with their uncle Levi. In 1890
- the year that the XX waist overall was given the lot number "501®" - Levi and
his nephews officially incorporated the company.
During the week of September 22, 1902 Levi began to complain of ill health but
by Friday evening the 26th, he felt well enough to attend the family dinner at
the home on Leavenworth Street, which he shared with Jacob Stern’s family. He
awakened briefly in the night and told the nurse in attendance that he felt "as
comfortable as I can under the circumstances.” Then, peacefully, he died. His
death was headline news in the Sunday, September 28 edition of the San Francisco
Call. On Monday, the day of his funeral, local businesses were temporarily
closed so that their proprietors could attend the services. The eulogy was read
at Levi’s home by Rabbi Jacob Voorsanger of Temple Emanu-El; afterward, company
employees escorted the casket to the Southern Pacific railway station, where it
was transported to the Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma (now Home of Peace),
south of San Francisco. Levi's estate amounted to nearly $6 million, the bulk of
which was left to his four nephews and other family members. Other bequests were
made to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum, the Home for Aged Israelites, the
Roman Catholic and Protestant Orphan Asylums, Eureka Benevolent Society and the
Emanu-El Sisterhood.
In summing up Levi's life and the establishment of his business, the San
Francisco Call stated: "Fairness and integrity in his dealings with his Eastern
factors and his customers and liberality toward his employees soon gave the
house a standing second to none on the coast." An even more fitting testimonial
was pronounced by the San Francisco Board of Trade in a special resolution:
"...the great causes of education and charity have likewise suffered a signal
loss in the death of Mr. Strauss, whose splendid endowments to the University of
California will be an enduring testimonial of his worth as a liberal, public
-minded citizen and whose numberless unostentatious acts of charity in which
neither race nor creed were recognized, exemplified his broad and generous love
for and sympathy with humanity." On April 18, 1906 San Francisco was devastated
by a massive earthquake and fire. Counted among the buildings which did not
survive the catastrophe was the headquarters of Levi Strauss & Co. on Battery
Street. The building survived the earthquake, but not the fire, which raged for
three long days: all dry goods, furnishings and business records were destroyed.
The factory suffered the same fate. It was a great loss, but it did not signal
the end to the company. As the ashes cooled, the Stern brothers made plans for a
new facility and a new factory, as their uncle Levi would no doubt have done.
They also continued to pay employee salaries and extended credit to other, less
fortunate merchants until they could get back on their feet.
Although buildings and factories fell, the company built by Levi Strauss was
bedrock solid, due to his foresight, his business sense and his unswerving
devotion to quality.
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. Levi - named "Loeb" at birth - and his
older sister Fanny were the last of the Strauss children; Hirsch and his first
wife had perhaps five children, but this information is hard to confirm.
Hirsch succumbed to tuberculosis in 1845 and two years later Rebecca, Loeb,
Fanny, and possibly another sister named Mathilde emigrated to New York. There,
they were met by Jonas and Louis, two of the older boys, who had already made
the journey and had started a wholesale 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” (in the census of that year,
his name is spelled “Levy.”).
When news of the California Gold Rush made its way east, Levi emigrated to San
Francisco to make his fortune, though he knew he wouldn’t make it panning gold.
At the end of January 1853 he became an American citizen, and in February he
headed for the West coast via the Isthmus of Panama. He arrived in bustling,
noisy San Francisco in early March, establishing a wholesale dry goods business
under his own name and also serving as the West Coast representative of the
family’s New York firm. His new company imported dry goods – clothing,
underwear, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, bolts of fabric – and sold them to the
small stores that were springing up all over California and the West. It was
these stores that helped outfit the miners of the Gold Rush and, eventually, the
new families that began to populate the Western regions. The first address where
Levi conducted business (that we know of) was at 90 Sacramento Street, and the
name of his firm was simply, “Levi Strauss.” In the 1850s this location was very
close to the waterfront, handy for receiving and selling the goods that arrived
by ship from his brother Jonas in New York. In 1856 Levi moved the business to
62 Sacramento Street and then to 63 & 65 Sacramento as its trade and reputation
expanded. By this time David Stern - who was married to Levi’s sister Fanny
- was associated with the firm. In 1861 the business relocated to 317 & 317
Sacramento Street, and in 1863 the company was renamed “Levi Strauss & Co.” Then
in 1866 Levi moved the headquarters again, to larger quarters at 14-16 Battery
Street, where it remained for the next forty years.
In his mid-thirties, Levi was already a well-known figure around the city. He
was active in the business and cultural life of San Francisco, and actively
supported the Jewish community. He also helped to found Temple Emanu-El, the
city's first synagogue. Despite his stature as an important business man, he
insisted that his employees call him Levi, not Mr. Strauss.
In 1872, Levi received a letter from Jacob Davis, a Reno, Nev., 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, he told the prosperous
merchant about the interesting way he made pants for his customers: he placed
metal rivets at the points of strain - pocket corners, and at the base of the
button fly. He did this in order to make the pants stronger for the laboring men
who were his customers. 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. Levi was enthusiastic about the idea and the patent was granted to
both men on May 20, 1873. The blue jean was born.
He knew that demand would be great for these riveted "waist overalls" (the old
name for jeans), so Levi brought Jacob Davis to San Francisco to oversee the
first West Coast manufacturing facility. The first manufacture of the jeans was
undertaken by individual seamstresses who worked out of their homes. By the
1880s Levi had leased factory space
and then opened his own factory south of Market Street (though the dates and
information are a bit vague here, thanks to the loss of the company’s historical
records in the 1906 earthquake and fire). The famous 501® jean – known at the
time simply as “XX” – was soon a best seller, as were the other riveted products
Levi and Jacob added to their new manufactured lines.
Levi carried on other business pursuits during his career, as well. 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
Company; and the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company. In 1875 Levi and two
associates purchased the Mission and Pacific Woolen Mills from the estate of
former silver millionaire William Ralston, and the mill's fabric was used to
make the Levi Strauss & Co. "blanket-lined" pants and coats.
He was also one of the city’s greatest philanthropists. Levi was a contributor
to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and Home, the Eureka Benevolent Society and
the Hebrew Board of Relief. In 1895 he and a number of other prominent San
Franciscans provided funds to build a new railroad from San Francisco to the San
Joaquin Valley (a project which unfortunately failed). And in 1897 Levi provided
the funds for twenty-eight scholarships at the University of California,
Berkeley.
As the end of the 19th century approached, Levi was still involved in the day
-to-day workings of the business, though he had brought his nephews into the
firm by this time. David Stern had died in 1874 and his four sons – Jacob,
Sigmund, Louis and Abraham – were now working with their uncle Levi. In 1890
- the year that the XX waist overall was given the lot number "501®" - Levi and
his nephews officially incorporated the company.
During the week of September 22, 1902 Levi began to complain of ill health but
by Friday evening the 26th, he felt well enough to attend the family dinner at
the home on Leavenworth Street, which he shared with Jacob Stern’s family. He
awakened briefly in the night and told the nurse in attendance that he felt "as
comfortable as I can under the circumstances.” Then, peacefully, he died. His
death was headline news in the Sunday, September 28 edition of the San Francisco
Call. On Monday, the day of his funeral, local businesses were temporarily
closed so that their proprietors could attend the services. The eulogy was read
at Levi’s home by Rabbi Jacob Voorsanger of Temple Emanu-El; afterward, company
employees escorted the casket to the Southern Pacific railway station, where it
was transported to the Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma (now Home of Peace),
south of San Francisco. Levi's estate amounted to nearly $6 million, the bulk of
which was left to his four nephews and other family members. Other bequests were
made to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum, the Home for Aged Israelites, the
Roman Catholic and Protestant Orphan Asylums, Eureka Benevolent Society and the
Emanu-El Sisterhood.
In summing up Levi's life and the establishment of his business, the San
Francisco Call stated: "Fairness and integrity in his dealings with his Eastern
factors and his customers and liberality toward his employees soon gave the
house a standing second to none on the coast." An even more fitting testimonial
was pronounced by the San Francisco Board of Trade in a special resolution:
"...the great causes of education and charity have likewise suffered a signal
loss in the death of Mr. Strauss, whose splendid endowments to the University of
California will be an enduring testimonial of his worth as a liberal, public
-minded citizen and whose numberless unostentatious acts of charity in which
neither race nor creed were recognized, exemplified his broad and generous love
for and sympathy with humanity." On April 18, 1906 San Francisco was devastated
by a massive earthquake and fire. Counted among the buildings which did not
survive the catastrophe was the headquarters of Levi Strauss & Co. on Battery
Street. The building survived the earthquake, but not the fire, which raged for
three long days: all dry goods, furnishings and business records were destroyed.
The factory suffered the same fate. It was a great loss, but it did not signal
the end to the company. As the ashes cooled, the Stern brothers made plans for a
new facility and a new factory, as their uncle Levi would no doubt have done.
They also continued to pay employee salaries and extended credit to other, less
fortunate merchants until they could get back on their feet.
Although buildings and factories fell, the company built by Levi Strauss was
bedrock solid, due to his foresight, his business sense and his unswerving
devotion to quality.