THIS YEAR MARKS the 150th anniversary of the garment that became the most popular item of apparel ever, turning the world indigo blue. On Tuesday 20 May 1873, Jacob W Davis and Levi Strauss & Co of San Francisco were granted US Patent No.139,121 for 'work pants: reinforced with metal rivets. The following month The Pacific Rural Press, a local San Francisco newspaper, carried a modest ad announcing the granting of the patent, concluding with the statement: 'Levi Strauss & Co of this city are sole agents for the new manufacture, and will soon place them in the market in large quantities, so that our miners, farmers and workingmen can supply themselves with superior overalls. Little could anyone have imagined quite how large those 'large quantities' would be.
Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss arrived in New York from Germany in 1847 to join his two brothers in their dry goods wholesale business just as the California Gold Rush kicked off. With thousands making their way west to seek their fortunes, the Strauss clan decided to join the 'rush' by dispatching Levi in 1854 to open a San Francisco branch.
At around the same time, 23-year-old tailor Jacob Youphes, born in Riga, Latvia, arrived in the US and changed his name to Jacob Davis. He settled in Reno, Nevada, making tents and horse blankets for workers on the Central Pacific Railroad, purchasing his material - nine-ounce 'serge de Nîmes' and ten-ounce white duck twill - from Levi Strauss.
Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Octane.
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Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Octane.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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IF THE MARQUE De Tomaso is mainly familiar to you through cars such as the Mangusta, the Pantera, maybe the Longchamps and, if you're next-level classic car geek, racers such as the P70, then the sheer variety to be found in this mammoth tome is going to come as something of a shock. There are literally dozens profiled here, and one or two will probably be news to even the most seasoned enthusiast.
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