Recommended reading in the Antique Web:

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.  Cont'd