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THERE'S GOLD IN THEM THAR'
JEANS!
by Wayne Mattox
When news of the California Gold Rush
reached Loeb "Levi" Strauss he wisely deduced that a fortune
could be made by expanding his family dry good business,
selling to cash-rich, merchandise-starved miners. In 1853, at
age 24, Levi opened up his first waterfront store at 90
Sacramento Street, San Francisco. Business flourished. Commonly
repeated stories about young Strauss fashioning durable pants
for miners out of overstocked canvas are probably based on
myth.
According to a press release, written by
historian Lynn Downey on the Levi Strauss Company web page, the
real story is quite simple. One of Strauss's customers was a
Reno, Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis. Among Jacob's customers
was a prospector named Alkali Ike who kept ripping the pockets
of his pants, presumably from stuffing them with heavy gold
nuggets. To strengthen his customer's trousers, Jacob utilized
tough cotton twill and put metal rivets at points of strain:
pocket corners, the crotch,
etc.
The pants proved so exemplary, Jacob decided
to take out a patent on the process. However, he had trouble
scraping together the $68 he needed to file the papers. Jacob
wrote to Levi to suggest that the two men hold the patent
together. Levi, being an astute businessman, saw the potential
for this new product, and agreed to the proposal. The two men
received a patent on May 20, 1873. Within a very short time,
all types of working men were buying up the innovative new
clothing, and spreading the
word.
Today's lesson is don't throw away that old
pair of jeans in your attic. Beginning in the 1970's historic
and popular interest gained considerable ground on artist merit
concerning antiques. Today, a well-preserved, properly marketed
19th century pair of Levi's might fetch $50,000-$100,000. A
1940's Lee "Cowboy" brand denim jacket will bring approximately
$6,000. A Levi jacket of the same period will fetch $5,000. A
pair of never-washed 1930's Levi jeans complete with a
"buckleback" is worth around $2,000. A mint pair of vintage
"Blue Bell" Wranglers made late as the 1960's is worth around
$100.
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