History of Levi Strauss at a great San Francisco Museum

Levi Strauss Co. Building, San Francisco

1907

Levi Strauss (1829–1902) was born in Buttenheim Bavaria, 7th child of Hirsch and Rebecca Strauss. Two older brothers had al­ready migrated to the USA, and bought a wholesale dry goods business-textiles in NY called Strauss Brothers. A couple of years after his father died of TB in 1846, Levi em­igrated to New York with his widowed mother and sisters. It was unclear if the fam­ily had been strugg­l­ing financially in Germany without a father, or if they were escap­ing the oppressive legislation Jews faced in 1840s Germ­any. In any case, he happily became an American citizen.

When New Yorkers heard of the California Gold Rush, Levi travelled overland to San Francisco in 1853 to make a living. He estab­lished a wholesale dry goods business and serv­ed as the West Coast agent of the family’s New York firm. Levi eventually renamed his west coast company Levi Strauss & Co, serving the small general shops of the American West.

Only in 1872 did Levi receive a letter from a cus­t­omer, tailor Jacob Davis from Reno Nevada. In his letter Davis discussed the unique way he made stronger pants for his customers, via cop­per rivets at points of strain. Davis, him­self a Lat­vian immigrant, wanted to pat­ent this new idea, needed a business partner to help. Levi was impressed and the pat­ent (for Improve­ment in Fastening Pock­et-Openings) was granted to Davis and Strauss in 1873.

Blue jeans appeared for the first time, made from denim. Denim comes from a sturdy fabric called serge de Nîmes-denim init­ially made in France. Although denim had been us­ed for workwear for years, the new­ly added rivets made a big dif­f­erence. Their 1886 Two Horse Trademark showed two horses attempt­ing to pull apart a pair of Levi's waist overalls - this logo symb­olised the great clothing in a competitive market.

And Levi had other business pursuits during his career. In 1875, Levi and two associates purchased the Mission and Pacific Woollen Mills. Then 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 Co and the San Francisco Gas and Electric Co. And he served in the San Francisco Cham­ber of Commerce.

And he was an important patron and donor. Levi was a contributor to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and Home, the Eureka Benevol­ent Society and the Hebrew Board of Relief. In 1897 Levi funded 28 scholarships at University of California Berk­el­ey! Strauss also paid for half the cost of renovating the Jewish cemetery back in Bavaria.

Strauss must have had a problem with Chinese people. Chinese lab­ourers had built the states’ railroads and done difficult low-wage work no one else wanted, but when recession hit in the 1870s, white Californians blamed Chinese imm­igrants. Bowing to popular xenoph­ob­ia, Strauss dismissed his 100+ Chinese workers. The wall text quotes histor­ian Fred Rosenbaum’s book Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area: Despite their own suffering in Europe and strong record of defend­ing the disadvantaged, these European Jews showed no more sensit­ivity to the persecution of Asians than did other white Californ­ians.”

Shortly before his death, Strauss reversed himself. He co-signed a letter to the Senate opposing renewal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, calling it “a gross injustice.” The act passed anyway.

Advertising for the denim jeans

Note Levi Strauss' photo in the top left

Two Horse Trademark since 1886

showing two horses attempt­ing to pull apart a pair of Levi's waist overalls

Late in the C19th, Levi was still involved in the day-to-day workings of the company. In 1890 Levi and his nephews officially incorporated the company; and Davis sold his interest back to Levi Strauss by the turn of the century.

Levi Strauss died in 1902. His estate was worth $6 million, and as his siblings had all died, the bulk of the assets was left to his beloved four nephews; further donations were made to his beloved Californian  charitable found­at­ions.

San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum opened a Levi Strauss exhibition that ended Aug 2021. Showing 250+ items from company’s archives, Levi Strauss: A History of American Style represented the largest public display from company's enormous archival materials. Vis­itors saw a suit owned by Lauren Bacall, a jacket worn by Albert Einstein, a 1974 AMC Gremlin car with an interior upholstered completely in denim, and the original 1873 patent. Works in different media were on view, showing ways in which the history of jeans be­came a marker of American identity. It was about the evol­ution of casual fashion and San Francis­co’s immig­rant hist­ory. It showed the power of advertising and marketing, and the classic immigrant success enjoyed by young, hard­working German men.

More unexpected were the denim-decorated Torah covers referring to San Francisco, Jewish and gay history; an outfit worn by Harvey Milk; a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt made by Levi’s emp­loyees; a flouncy denim ball gown for a San Franc­isco drag queen; Albert Einstein’s very chic Levi’s leath­er jacket; a pair of well-preserved Levi’s from 1890; rodeo clown costumes and creepy cowboy marion­ettes. Parts from films de­picting the essent­ial American-ness of Levi’s were shown includ­ing The Wild One (Marlon Brando), The Misfits (Marilyn Monroe), The Outsiders, The Breakfast Club, Thelma and Louise and Brokeback Mountain.

The exhibit displays the San Francisco of Strauss’ day, including photos of his synagogue, factories, the skyline before and after the 1906 earthquake, and brand mark­eting by the company. Though Levi Strauss began with rugged workwear designed for miners, the company quickly saw that cowboy myths appealed to city Americans. As America increasingly loved Western films, the company began pro­mot­ing rodeos and using ads stating that genuine Levi’s were worn by all cowboys. 

Levi Strauss &Co. sewing line
Palace of Manufactures, San Francisco

Panama-Pacific International Exposition, 1915

Each palace at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition was dedicated to Fine Arts, Education, Transportation, Agriculture and other subjects. Levi Strauss & Co. built a working sewing line in its enormous booth, inside the Palace of Manufactures. It was hugely popular.

Levi Strauss was progressive in some important ways eg as far back as the 1920s, its workforce was racially integrated. The company al­ways treated its LGBT employees with respect and dignity. It donat­ed significant funds to fight the gay cancer before the disease was even given the name AIDS. Levi’s history is America's history in its creative, entrepreneurial, spirited glory and in its colonialist darkness.

Buy the catalogue or see the exhibits in Phyl on the Go.