Strauss, Levi

Strauss, Levi (1829–1902), dry‐goods merchant.Levi Strauss was the coinventor and manufacturer of the ubiquitous blue denim trousers called “Levis.” Born in Bavaria, he emigrated in 1847 to New York City with part of his family, where they ran a dry‐goods shop called Strauss and Brother.

In 1853, Strauss became a U.S. citizen and moved to burgeoning San Francisco where he established his own dry‐goods business, which in 1863 became Strauss and Company. Active in the community, he joined Temple Emanu‐El, the city's first synagogue. In 1872, a tailor, Jacob Davis, informed Strauss of the process that led to the production of “Levi's Jeans.” In 1873, Strauss and Davis received a patent for “waist overalls,” soon to become known as jeans or ‘Levis,’ made of heavy cotton denim dyed with natural indigo and featuring zinc buttons and copper rivets on pocket corners. Marketed with a small red tag carrying the company name, their product proved an enormous success. As demand increased, the partners opened new factory facilities in San Francisco.

As the company prospered, Strauss pursued other interests. Active on the San Francisco Board of Trade, he was also a director of the Nevada Bank, the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company, and an insurance company. In 1897, he endowed twenty‐eight scholarships at the University of California, Berkeley. His estate of six million dollars went mainly to his family, but also included bequests to local orphanages and various religious charities. A century after his death, Levis continued to be marketed throughout the world.
See also Business; Mass Marketing.

Bibliography

Isabel Dunwoody , The Pants with the Small Red Tag, National Jewish Monthly, November 1967, pp. 14–15.
Lynne Downey , Levi Strauss, a Biography, 2000.

Leo Hershkowitz